The Importance of Net Neutrality for the Connected Car

The Connected Car Revolution May Finally Almost be Upon us, with Vince Cable Announcing that, Satellite-Controlled Vehicles Could be on Britain’s Roads within a Few Years. But, Connected Cars Raise a Few Questions, Not Least around the Safety of Vehicles that Rely on a Permanent High-Quality Internet Connection. In Particular, the Connected Car Opens Up the Debate of Net Neutrality, which is the Principle that Internet Service Providers Should Treat All Data on the Internet Equally. The Internet has 36 Million Adults in the UK Accessing it Every Day and this Couldn’t Have Happened without Net Neutrality. For Example, Small Companies’ Websites are on a Level with Larger Organizations Websites. Without Net Neutrality, Large Companies Could Have the Option to Pay to Make their Data Packets Move Faster than Smaller Companies across the Same Network.


Instead of Investing in Larger Faster Networks, the ISP could Maintain Profits by Limiting Certain Data Packets and Prioritizing Others for a Fee. As the Internet Progresses, People are Becoming More Familiar with Net Neutrality, however they Tend to Associate it, with Netflix and Media Consumption. Net Neutrality is actually Much Bigger than that; Especially as we Introduce the Internet of Cars. Let’s Think about this for a Second; Imagine your Car is Completely Connected to the Internet. It Can Offer Different Routes Based on Traffic Jams, Notify you about Speed Limits and Give you a Hand with your Parking. While All of this Sounds Great, it Could All be Compromised if we Ignore Net Neutrality.


Without it, we Would See the Connected Car Affecting Public Safety, especially if we Look at the Need for the Internet to Access Maps and for Processing. Basically, Without Net Neutrality, “Car Company A” Could Pay “Mobile Provider B” to Prioritize its Traffic over “Car company B’s”. Taking the Possibilities to the Extreme End of the Spectrum, Imagine if we Had a 2 Tiered Internet, Where Internet Service Providers (ISPs) Charge for Basic Access and then Charge the Content Providers Extra to Ensure Delivery of their Content. Does this Mean that, Anyone on the Basic Tier could Have Issues with their Content being Delivered ? If we Follow this Thought through and Say the Connected Car Didn't Have the Super-Fast Access, or that, the Company Hadn't Paid for the High Tier of Service, Could we See Issues When the Car Couldn't Communicate its Location or Receive Special Instructions ?


What about an Ambulance on its Way to the Emergency Department with a Critical Patient on Board. We are at a Stage Where it is Not Unreasonable to Assume or to Think that, the Patient’s Vital Signs are Being Fed in Real Time to the Hospital. What if this Provider Didn't Have the Special Faster Tier ? Would the Speed of Delivery of this Critical Information be Hampered ? Although these are Extreme Cases, if we Consider these Scenarios, we Can See that Net Neutrality is Integral When Thinking about the Connected Car. Just as we Have Freedom of Speech and Equality in our Day-to-Day Lives, it’s Only Natural that, as we Enter a More Digitally-Centric World, the Same Practices Occur. As Internet and Connectivity Continue to Play a Huge Part in our Lives, we Need to Make Sure that, Net Neutrality also Continues to Play a Part.