OKO Digital

The ad optimisation people

  • Home
  • Publisher Solutions
    • Website Monetization
    • Header Bidding
    • AdX – Google Ad Exchange
    • App Ad Monetization
    • WordPress Monetization
  • About us
    • OKO & the OKO team
    • Careers
  • Blog
    • Latest blog posts
    • Ad Blocking
    • Ad Exchange (AdX)
    • Ad Optimisation
    • Ad Performance & Page Speed
    • Ad Publishing Landscape
    • AdSense
    • DoubleClick For Publishers (DFP)
    • Exchange Bidding
    • Google Ad Manager
    • Google Certified Publishing Partners
    • Header Bidding
    • Privacy & GDPR
    • Program Policy
    • Open Bidding
    • Traffic
  • Contact

Ad Publishing Landscape . 18th December 2017

What do publishers have to fear over Net Neutrality Rollback?

Last week, in the US, the Federal Communications Commission voted to repeat legislation that protects the neutrality of access to the Internet. Although the fight for Net Neutrality continues, this is a worrying development for independent web publishers, and not just those in the USA.

A (very) brief explanation of Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality means that ISPs provide access to the internet in a fair way, irrespective of what content you consume. The alternative is access that favours particular content by making it cheaper or faster to access.

Why this is bad news for independent publishers

Smaller and independent publishers potentially have the most to lose through these changes. Without the resources to secure and pay for a spot on “internet fast-lanes”, independent publishers could find themselves on forgotten, traffic-free backwaters.

Publishers outside of the USA are not immune to the impact of the so-called rollback of net neutrality either. Publishers around the world rely on the high rates from US traffic to support their operations.

Net-neutrality keeps the playing field level

Many of the ISPs pushing for the rules protecting Net Neutrality to be rolled back are publishers themselves. Verizon owns AOL and Yahoo. Comcast owns NBC, AT&T, has a stake in Otter Media and is trying to merge with Time Warner. A very real fear is that such ISPs will provide faster or unmetered access to the publishing properties that they own, severely disadvantaging competitors.

Speed is paramount on the internet and users who must choose between fast content and content that has been slowed down by their ISP will hugely favour the fast content. That not only means less traffic for those sites “in the slow lane”, but also reduce engagement and revenue from their remaining traffic.

Alongside speed of access, ISPs would also gain control of cost of access if Net Neutrality legislation is repealed. With mobile web consumption now the norm, and continuing to grow, data allowances on mobile web access are critical. ISP packages that include unmetered mobile access to approved sites would squeeze out competitors and cut-off long tail of the web.

Other concerns

Looking beyond the publisher business, repealing Net Neutrality raises a host of other concerns from censorship and free speech to ad injection.

How does that effect users in other countries?

The big current debate is with regards to ISPs in America giving access to the internet to American users. It does not directly impact end users in other territories. However, ISPs in other countries will no-doubt be watching the results closely.

Can you do anything about this?

Anyone motivated to take action over these changes should visit battleforthenet.com. US citizens can easily contact congress from that site. There are also some useful widgets for website owners to encourage others to do the same.

Ad Publishing Landscape . Publisher News, Analysis

About Abbey Colville

SEARCH

TOPICS

  • Ad Blocking
  • Ad Exchange (AdX)
  • Ad Optimisation
  • Ad Performance & Page Speed
  • Ad Publishing Landscape
  • AdSense
  • DoubleClick For Publishers (DFP)
  • Exchange Bidding
  • Google Ad Manager
  • Google Certified Publishing Partners
  • Header Bidding
  • Open Bidding
  • Privacy & GDPR
  • Program Policy
  • Traffic

Could the ads on your site be earning more?

Find out how OKO help publishers earn more from their ads.

LEARN MORE
Insticator

OKO Digital, The Cake Shed, Manor Farm, Manor Road, Hayling Island, Hampshire, PO11 0QW

Google Certified Publisher Partner Logo

OKO is a registered trademark and trading style of OKO Digital Limited. Registered in England company number 03867231. © OKO Digital Limited 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
We use cookies to optimise our website and our service.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}