Net neutrality lives, for now

Filed under: Internet, Security, News, Blogging

Net neutrality lives, for now

by Ryan Carter Dec 30th 2006

AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth was approved by the FCC, after stating that they would preserve net neutrality for 30 months on its broadband service. AT&T at least appears to be playing nice here, though some say there is dangerous fine print to the deal. This is such a large and controversial issue, one that I will admit I don't know everything about, but this is a good thing, if the net is to remain free and accessible for everyone (as I understand it). Many news reports I have read say that this will pave the way for congress to approve legislation to preserve net neutrality in the coming months. All we need is someone controlling access to the best thing to ever happen to this planet, a universally accessible network that everyone has access to, no matter their status.

SaveTheInternet.com has a way for anyone to sign a petition stating that net neutrality should be preserved, so check it out if you care about this issue. There is even a great video explaining the issue on the site. This chronic downloader doesn't want to pay anyone else to support my habit, I like my Internet just fine the way it is.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

taylor said 5:44PM on 12-31-2006

We all should support this website to the fullest extent

Book Lover said 5:51PM on 12-31-2006

"I like my Internet just fine the way it is."

It already is the way it is. Let me know when something is made worse by a provider in a way that cannot be overcome by market choice.

I don't think you can claim you like the Internet as it is, and advocate for fundamental change and a new regulatory agency from some of the most clueless tech people on the planet.

yeye said 2:49PM on 1-02-2007

"Let me know when something is made worse by a provider in a way that cannot be overcome by market choice."

Ok, well -- you've got pretty much a monopoly providing the internet backbones, and so when *that* entity decides, hey, I'm going to alter QoS for pay, then, good luck using "market choice" to overcome that change. Will most people notice? well, probably not. Will it make the internet worse? Yes. It will limit the ability to disseminate information to those people who can afford it -- no, it's not gonna affect Mom's blog, or Joe Blow's conspiracy webpage, but it might very well affect new startups trying to compete with established web giants. You'd think if you were a true "market choice" fan, you'd also be a fan of net neutrality.

And Ryan, you really should inform yourself on this issue if you're going to write about it. It'll take you five minutes on wikipedia to get a grasp.

Ryan Carter said 2:52PM on 1-02-2007

I am actually really sick of everyone thinking Wikipedia is like manna from heaven and the end-all information resource. It is one of the great resources out there, but it is often inaccurate. No one seems to remember that it is human edited.

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