> So, while certainly this kind of thing might raise concerns related to net neutrality, its not what the focus of the net neutrality debate and regulatory effort has been.
Well, that's because this wasn't a threat (in the US) until relatively recently, unlike paid prioritization and/or throttling. That doesn't mean that zero-rating doesn't violate the same principles as paid prioritization does. If you take a look at the doomsday scenario that Fred Wilson outlines in "VC Pitches In A Year Or Two"[0], the situation could just as easily apply to a zero-rated world.
You can think of zero-rating as "slow lanes", the speed on the slow lane is set to zero. (In a way, zero-rating is actually worse than paid prioritization, because it achieves the same end result, but placing a more consumer-friendly facade on the same rotten interior.)
> This is kind of at the peripheries of net neutrality. I don't recall any proposed "net neutrality" related regulations -- whether the 2010 Open Internet Order, the NPRM from earlier this year, or any of the concrete alternatives proposed -- that would have prohibited zero-rating on mobile networks that have data volume charges.
I also don't recall any large-scale[1] efforts to impose zero-rating on mobile consumers until the last year or so, which is why net neutrality legislation hasn't focused on it. In general, legislation around consumer protections tends to be reactive rather than proactive, and net neutrality has definitely followed this pattern.
Well, that's because this wasn't a threat (in the US) until relatively recently, unlike paid prioritization and/or throttling. That doesn't mean that zero-rating doesn't violate the same principles as paid prioritization does. If you take a look at the doomsday scenario that Fred Wilson outlines in "VC Pitches In A Year Or Two"[0], the situation could just as easily apply to a zero-rated world.
You can think of zero-rating as "slow lanes", the speed on the slow lane is set to zero. (In a way, zero-rating is actually worse than paid prioritization, because it achieves the same end result, but placing a more consumer-friendly facade on the same rotten interior.)
> This is kind of at the peripheries of net neutrality. I don't recall any proposed "net neutrality" related regulations -- whether the 2010 Open Internet Order, the NPRM from earlier this year, or any of the concrete alternatives proposed -- that would have prohibited zero-rating on mobile networks that have data volume charges.
I also don't recall any large-scale[1] efforts to impose zero-rating on mobile consumers until the last year or so, which is why net neutrality legislation hasn't focused on it. In general, legislation around consumer protections tends to be reactive rather than proactive, and net neutrality has definitely followed this pattern.
[0] http://avc.com/2014/01/vc-pitches-in-a-year-or-two/
[1] (Yes, they existed in some cases, but they were very limited and relatively obscure.)