Google announces public monitoring of broadband
Google has announced that it plans to develop a broadband monitoring system following accusations of service providers withholding bandwidth from certain sites.
The idea is to make the internet market more neutral and open and to ensure fairness both to websites and users.
Google senior policy director Richard Whitt says this will encourage creativity and fairness, meaning the ISPs don't have a say in which websites are and aren't successful.
"We're trying to develop tools that allow people to detect what's happening with their broadband connections," he said.
"They can then let (ISPs) know that they're not happy with what they're getting and that they think certain services are being tampered with."
Google has yet to announce exactly how the tools will work but when they do arrive, the landscape of the internet market could change dramatically.
The implications for business and consumer internet are unclear but the results will be interesting as some ISPs are forced to show their dirty laundry in public.
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