June 6, 2015 – Time to Protect Your Domain Assets
It’s been almost a month since we began reporting and commenting on Net Neutrality. By now you have likely heard the term spoken by everyone, including your grandmother’s best friend. For most, Net Neutrality remains a vague concept. Make no mistake this is a big deal and the outcome of the FCC’s decision will affect your personal use and enjoyment of the Internet, and could have a negative impact on your business.
Consider the FCC allowing the cable giants to create “fast lanes” where certain content is delivered quickly while other content lags behind. If you are a large well capitalized venture you may be able to pay for speedy delivery of your site or content, otherwise, like most in the domain industry, your business likely can’t afford to “pay to play.” I doubt a two tiered system will help domain valuation. It’s the level playing field that has allowed start-ups and new ventures to compete with industry leaders.
Earlier this week comedian John Oliver aired a funny, but informative show on HBO. Mr. Oliver made an impassioned plea for everyone to let the FCC know how you feel about Cable Companies lobbying to taking away our Internet and replacing it with a Fast and Slow lane. Since his show aired Sunday, the YouTube video has received over 2 Million views and the FCC’s website crashed from the volume of comments. The image above of Lex Luther talking to Superman comes from Oliver’s show illustrating how activists and corporations like Netflix, Google and Amazon are on the same side of this issue – working to keep the Internet open (video start at around 5:02)
Keep in mind that the Cable Industry is lobbying hard – it appears that Comcast spent nearly $20M last year lobbying for its interests – putting it in second place right behind Northrop Grumman. That’s serious business. Not only are they lobbying hard, the cable giants are successfully pushing their agenda through the courts. Indeed, the whole reason the FCC is working on its Rule Making for Net Neutrality is Verizon’s successful challenge to the existing rules as set forth in the January 2014 D.C. Court of Appeals decision. See our older posts to get up to speed on the issue.
It’s time for the domain community to speak up and be heard – post your comments to the FCC.