Janna Anderson, professor of communications and director of the Imagining the Internet Center, was interviewed for a Nov. 29 article that looks at potential ramifications of repealing regulations meant to ensure an open internet.
A recent article published by Inside Higher Ed, a top national higher education media outlet, examining the upcoming vote on net neutrality included comments from Janna Anderson, professor of communications and director of the Imagining the Internet Center.
The Nov. 29 article, titled “Net Neutrality Rollback Concerns Colleges,” delves into the Federal Communications Commission’s Dec. 14 vote to replace current rules enforcing net neutrality, and the effect repealing these measures could have on higher education.
Anderson expressed concerns about the impact of dismantling net neutrality on online education, and she said the introduction of paid prioritization from ISPs could “crush the potential for amazing breakthroughs in education for all.”
Anderson predicted that online educators experimenting with augmented and virtual reality could be greatly affected by a new neutrality rollback because these technologies require substantial bandwidth.
“Added costs and complexities that may accompany a rejection of net neutrality principles will make it difficult to develop and implement these education innovations and deliver them to the public far and wide,” Anderson told reporter Lindsay McKenzie. This change, she cautioned, “will further widen the digital divide.”