Online Learning Update

By Shalina Chatlani, Education Dive
The Federal Communications Commission voted to repeal net neutrality rules prohibiting Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from blocking certain types of web content or unfairly pricing companies for bandwidth intensive services — a move that came to the disappointment of several higher education associations, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education.  Experts on the net neutrality regulation debate, however, contend the rollback would most likely impact entertainment platform providers, as accessing materials online versus streaming movies taxes the network infrastructure much differently — with basic online services not requiring much data or constant bandwidth consumption. Decisions on censoring content would be made by ISPs rather than the government, reports CIO Dive.  With less government oversight and greater competition among ISPs, many insiders contend blocking content will happen responsibly, reports CIO Dive. However, others argue the repeal could mean higher costs for high-bandwidth sites and fewer small ISP providers, which might affect higher ed institutions that support data-intensive online learning if learning management systems face new significant costs, according to Inside Higher Ed.

https://www.educationdive.com/news/what-will-the-rollback-of-net-neutrality-mean-for-innovation-in-higher-ed/513250/