Google Fiber won't charge content providers for quicker access
Irked that your internet provider is strong-arming media services into connection deals just to guarantee the quality you were expecting all along? You won't have to worry about that happening with Google Fiber. The gigabit-grade ISP has declared that it isn't charging companies for peering agreements, fast lanes or anything else that gives content hosts and delivery networks better performance than they would otherwise get. In fact, companies like Netflix already colocate in Google's spaces -- there won't be any hitches in that 4K House of Cards stream if you're using Fiber.
The search firm argues that there's simply no incentive for it to extract cash from other sites. Video doesn't slow down the network, and a better connection ultimately helps everyone; data traffic gets cheaper and customers are happier. We doubt that this stance will have companies like Comcast or Verizon rethinking their pay-to-play strategies any time soon. However, it does mean that you can turn to Google Fiber if you believe that paid prioritization violates the spirit of net neutrality... assuming you can get Fiber in the first place, that is.
[Image credit: Barta IV, Flickr]
