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A DIY Test for Your Broadband Provider’s Net Neutrality

January 16, 2009
by Christopher Rhoads
Internet Policy Writer, Wall Street Journal

Christopher Rhoads

Worried that your broadband provider is slowing down your Web traffic?

If so, you might want to download the aptly named “Switzerland”–a tool that tests whether your Internet provider is violating the principles of so-called “network neutrality.”

Network neutrality, which prevents carriers from blocking traffic or manipulating the speeds of traffic from certain Web sites, became a hot-button issue several years ago when carriers suggested they should be allowed to charge content providers more for using faster lanes on their networks.

The issue resurfaced last summer when the FCC determined that Comcast (CMCSA) had interfered with its subscribers’ use of a file-sharing technology, called BitTorrent, a free application used to distribute sometimes large software and media files. Comcast is contesting the ruling.

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