Will Donald Trump slow the cloud computing economy? That’s what Tom Wheeler, past president of the FCC, thinks.
Donald Trump and his administration, to be established on January 20, have already been fiercely hostile to net neutrality. In his opening speech, Tom Wheeler, president of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), warned his successors against any change in Obama-era policies. According to him, any backpedalling would cause a fall in the Internet of Things and Cloud Computing markets.
Donald Trump Upsets The IT Industry
The end of a political era and the start of a new one naturally raises questions about the future. In the United States, changes are rapid: only four years separate two presidential elections. Donald Trump, the 45th president of the first world power, is in the news. His declarations favourable to the abandonment of net neutrality made the outgoing administration react.
Tom Wheeler, president of the FCC, the equivalent of Arcep in the United States reacted publicly during his opening speech on this subject. He explains that the policies and laws adopted by his government agency in 2015 favour the Cloud Computing industry and the Internet of Things market. To reflect on these latter rules would be to curb the growth of companies in the sector such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure or Oracle.
What Are True Danger of Repealing Net Neutrality?
Indeed, these laws passed almost two years ago prevent Internet service providers from blocking or slowing down transmissions on their networks for certain customers or companies. The president of the FCC explains:
“While today everything travels through the Cloud, not going through“ gatekeepers ”is essential. If ISPs choose which applications and which Clouds work better than others in terms of access, speed and latency, they will control the future of the Cloud.”
He warns Donald Trump and his administration that altering net neutrality could stifle growth and innovation, as well as increase the costs of specialist cloud companies.
Similarly, the Internet of Things sector could be impacted by a policy favourable to the ascendancy of Internet Service Providers. This could “jeopardize the future of IoT,” according to the former telecommunications network lobbyist.
If some see this statement as a language effect to protect themselves from critics at the time of the transition with the administration of Donald Trump, it is all the same a remark directed towards the professionals somewhat outside the usual considerations of the general public.
Operators like Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile could then benefit from their IoT and Cloud Computing offers. However, the manifesto of the republican party engaged in a transition favourable to the widening of the number of available frequency bands. However, the presence of Roslyn Layton in the team of President Donald Trump gives character to Wheeler’s hypotheses. As a reminder, this consultant made herself known for her anti-net neutrality positions.
