April 2014: Is Net Neutrality Dead?

ISPs can now selectively choose to favor, block or slow down Internet traffic. How will this impact your practice website?

Most of us don’t pay a lot of attention to what the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is up to, but it may be time to start. An ongoing battle over net neutrality has the potential to render website videos useless.

An Internet Tug of War

About 10 years ago, the FCC enacted several regulations pertaining to “net neutrality.” These rules mandated that broadband Internet service providers (ISPs) like Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner Cable treat all data traveling across their fiber networks equally. The end result was that companies like Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, which relay huge amounts of information and data to consumers, had to be treated equally by ISPs, regardless of the amount of bandwidth they accounted for.

However, in 2010, the ISPs united in an attempt to reverse these regulations. In January 2014 they succeeded, as the regulations were overturned. Now, ISPs can choose to favor, block or slow down Internet traffic. But this ruling is not necessarily the final word. The Open Internet Preservation Act, which seeks to reinstate the net neutrality regulations, is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.

Exodus of the Gamers

As lawmakers in Washington continue to haggle over net neutrality, companies and medical practices that depend upon quick, equal Internet access will need to fasten their seatbelts.

Gaming companies are particularly vulnerable, because any reduction in speed has the potential to cause gamers to jump ship, with the end result being enormous revenue loss. Educational institutions are also vulnerable due to the fact that they have begun to move the majority of their classes and/or class materials online to save on distribution and printing costs — if the ISPs begin charging for bandwidth, these savings will disappear.

But will any of this affect your practice’s approach to Internet marketing? Perhaps. If the ISPs were to slow access to YouTube or begin charging for downloads, you can say goodbye to any videos you have placed on your website. Educational video libraries and surgery simulation programs that depend on quick Internet access will become useless, because consumers will stop viewing them if access is compromised during peak periods. So while no one can predict the end result of all the wrangling in Washington, it’s safe to say that complete reliance on Web applications that require quick access to broadband downloads is not a good idea.

The Right Balance

All of these changes have highlighted the importance of balanced content. Consumers rely on several mediums to learn about new subjects, including pictures, video and text. If your marketing strategy relies too much on any one medium, it could come back to haunt you.

The best way to ensure that you attract the most patients, while protecting yourself from the FCC and its enemies, is to take a balanced approach to your Internet marketing. For example, in order to strike the right balance of text and video, the pages of your website should include at least 500 words — even pages that have videos. This will ensure that consumers have timely access to more than one method of learning about your practice.

Contact one of our Internet Marketing Experts at Ceatus to find out if your website is prepared to weather the storm of these changing regulations.

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