Today, the FCC voted 3-2 to reverse the rules set by the Obama administration. The reversal will allow ISPs to throttle Internet traffic and charge consumers for specific Internet-based services. Read more here.
Our view is that this reversal may negatively affect the smart home. Today, a consumer can purchase a plethora of smart home devices like security cameras, thermostats, locks, lights, motion detectors, air quality sensors, etc. in retail, install the devices themselves, and then access them remotely over the Internet using their smartphones and computers for no additional ISP fee. With the new rules, the ISP could now charge the consumer for access to these smart home devices, especially for high-bandwidth traffic like HD security camera monitoring, or critical safety and security notifications like an intruder alert, water leak, etc.
Do you think ISPs will start charging their customers for smart home accessibility? Leave your thoughts below in the Comments section.