Net Neutrality in Plain English

September 22, 2007

If we dispose of Net Neutrality and allow telecommunications companies to tier their service, it will decimate my career and destroy independently published sites like Thudfactor which don’t have the funds for preferential treatment. But it’s a confusing concept for most people to grasp. Fortunately, someone has made a graphic of what you could see if Net Neutrality goes away.

Telecom companies are pitching the lifting of net neutrality regulations to Congresspeople and citizens alike as “increasing freedom” and “deregulation.” What they are asking for is the authority to regulate their own customers and decide which web sites people are allowed to view. Telecom in the United States is not a competitive industry, at least how most people would consider competitive — there are only a handful of owners of the infrastructure, and they all want to turn the Internet into cable television. So it’s not like you could just choose another provider.

Keep your eye on this.

Posted in Infrastructure