Briefly About the Show

Before you dismiss this article as something that's only for techies, geeks, and nerds, let me just say that everything I'm about to tell you affects you directly. Do you use the internet to shop, check email, or browse web sites? Then it affects you. Please read this carefully and completely...

Update: This is a great video explaining Net Neutrality in simple terms.

The Way Things Are
Right now the internet is an open system governed by a non-profit organization named ICANN. I won't get too technical, but right now everyone (including companies) pay for access to the internet. They can use that access to buy or sell pretty much everything you're used to seeing. Music, movies, books, CDs... well you get the idea.

Currently no one gets special treatment on the internet. You pay for access and choose a connection speed and that's all there is to it.

They Way Things May Be
The major companies that offer you internet service (AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, etc...) would like to change things completely. They claim that they put in a lot of the lines that give their users (you and I) access to the net, so they should be able to regulate it. The fact is, WE paid for those lines by buying their services and paying to connect to the internet. They paid for nothing.

Regardless, new services have popped up such like Skype and Vonage. These companies are new startups that offer phone service over the internet instead of regular phone lines. They are able to give you that service at a really low cost and that upsets AT&T and Verizon. Conversely, companies like Comcast and Adelphia (cable companies) are upset that you can download video and will soon be able to get TV over the internet instead of "needing" Cable service.

Rather than try and compete with these startups (resulting in fair competition) the big telcos want to privatize the internet so they have control.

New technology allows AT&T or Verizon to scan the data moving across their lines and control it based on what kind of traffic it is. This means they can scan your connection and if you're using Skype (phone over internet) they can either throttle your speed so that it will become unusable or they can add a fee on to your monthly bill because you're using such a service.

They can also allow companies to bid so they can get the fastest load times on your machine. This means AOL would be able to approach AT&T and make a deal (for money) to ensure that all of AOL's pages and services loaded faster than any others for all AT&T customers. Not exactly fair if you want to compete.

What Does This Mean to You?

• Google users - Another search engine could pay dominant Internet providers like AT&T to guarantee the competing search engine opens faster than Google on your computer.
  
• Innovators with the "next big idea" - Startups and entrepreneurs will be muscled out of the marketplace by big corporations that pay Internet providers for dominant placing on the Web. The little guy will be left in the "slow lane" with inferior Internet service, unable to compete.
  
• Music listeners - A company like Comcast could slow access to iTunes, steering you to a higher-priced music service that it owned.
  
• Political groups - Political organizing could be slowed by a handful of dominant Internet providers who ask advocacy groups to pay "protection money" for their websites and online features to work correctly.
  
• Non-profits - A charity's website could open at snail-speed, and online contributions could grind to a halt, if non-profits can't pay dominant Internet providers for access to "the fast lane" of Internet service.
  
• Online purchasers - Companies could pay Internet providers to guarantee their online sales process faster than competitors with lower prices, distorting your choice as a consumer.
  
• Small businesses and tele-commuters - When Internet companies like AT&T favor their own services, you won't be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office.
  
• Parents and retirees - Your choices as a consumer could be controlled by your Internet provider, steering you to their preferred services for online banking, health care information, sending photos, planning vacations, etc.
  
• Bloggers - Costs will skyrocket to post and share video and audio clips silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets.
  

Don't Believe it Could Happen?
I have to admit, I never thought it could happen either, but it is. There's a very bad bill moving through Congress right now. It's supported overwhelmingly by Republicans but also by a lot of Democrats. Basically the bill would turn over the control of the Internet to the phone companies -- though 'phone companies' is probably now an antiquated phrase for Verizon and AT&T and other such outfits.

This bill is just the latest attempt backed by the telcos to gain control. There are examples of what can happen when telcos try to control the content on the internet...

• In 2005, Canada's telephone giant Telus blocked customers from visiting a Web site sympathetic to the Telecommunications Workers Union during a labor dispute.
• Shaw, a big Canadian cable TV company, is charging an extra $10 a month to subscribers who want to use a competing Internet telephone service.
• In April, Time Warner's AOL blocked all emails that mentioned www.dearaol.com - an advocacy campaign opposing the company's pay-to-send e-mail scheme.

Also, the CEO of Verizon has openly stated that he thinks creating a paid tiered internet is only fair (Read More). If you read the article, you'll see that the head of SBC (now AT&T) said the same thing. Coincidentally these two companies (along with Time Warner and Comcast) are backing this new bill in Congress. Weird, huh?

Who's Against the Bill?
Now let's look at who's against the bill. These are the guys on our side. Obviously they're all the companies who would suffer if they had to bid to keep their services running properly.

The supporters of net neutrality include leading high-tech companies such as Amazon.com, Earthlink, EBay, Google, Microsoft, Skype, Vonage and Yahoo. Prominent national figures such as Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig and FCC Commissioner Michael Copps have called for stronger net neutrality protections.

What You Can Do
I hope I've shown you what's at stake here and that it's a very real possibility. If you want to help, it's really easy.

These sites have more information and easy links to find and email or write your congressmen about the issue: Savetheinternet.com Publicknowledge.org EFF.org

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