Before
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted Dec. 14 to repeal 2015’s “net
neutrality” orders, some higher-education organizations, including the American
Council on Education, expressed concern about the impact on online research and
distance courses. They worried institutions might end up in the Internet slow
lane if business interests priced faster service out of reach.
John
Harrington, CEO of Funds for Learning, a financial consulting firm for schools
and libraries, told SmartBrief he thinks the repeal “is unlikely to have any
significant impact on schools.” He conceded the repeal could affect web content
aimed at consumers, but he noted that educational institutions typically don’t
subscribe to those types of services (although students may do so).
If the
repeal does spur more competition among Internet service providers, as some
(including the FCC chairman) have predicted, Harrington said schools could take
advantage of that to select a provider that will ensure speedy service for the
campus, including online courses. The institution could even opt for faster
service for learning content, and not-so-fast for less-critical content.
“This
might give schools an opportunity to prioritize live Internet video feeds above
emails and other web traffic that does not require real-time interaction,” he
said.