IP/Internet/New Media Blog

An August 4 New York Times web article lead with the following,

Google and Verizon Near Deal on Web Pay Tiers
By EDWARD WYATT
Published: August 4, 2010

WASHINGTON — Google and Verizon, two leading players in Internet service and content, are nearing an agreement that could allow Verizon to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.

Some commentators opine that it heralds the end of net-neutrality. Marvin Ammori writes at Balkinization,

So, as a business matter, the deal is important. And, yes, it may be the end of the Internet as we know it, if the FCC blessed such deals. The deal yesterday announces that Verizon and Google open the door to all of this.

But Google denies any such conversations, writing via Google’s Public Policy twitter stream,

@NYTimes is wrong. We’ve not had any convos with VZN about paying for carriage of our traffic. We remain committed to an open internet.

Google has long enjoyed a favored position in the eyes of net-neutrality proponents, and Verizon, along with “big telcom” in general, have long been cast as acquisitive robber barons seeking an end to the level playing field of open networks. But with the increasing closeness of Google and Verizon engendered by their joint projects with the Android phone there are concerns by many that Google may have moved away from its core values in favor of a profitable alliance.