I just saw a commercial to stop Net Neutrality!!

[Dr.Phool]

The telecoms are coming out swinging! Trying to make it sound like some evil thing that consumers will have to pay for. Urging people to contact their Senators and Representatives to stop it.

We'd better get our message out there loud and fast!

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. I have not followed this.

Would you explain it to me?

[WhiteTara]

2. it's about the fate of the internet as we know it

Here are some items to view.

http://news.com.com/Net+neutrality+showdown/2009-1028_3-6055133.html

http://msl1.mit.edu/furdlog/?p=4890
Called the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act,” the bill was introduced on Friday by Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and North Dakota Democrat Sen. Byron Dorgan and enjoys support from six other Democrats. The nine-page measure (click for PDF) contains a detailed list of obligations for all broadband service providers.

Specifically, they would generally not be allowed to “block, interfere with, discriminate against, impair or degrade” access to content or to prevent users from attaching devices of their choosing to the network. Network operators would also be barred from making special deals with content providers to ensure speedier delivery or improved quality of service and would be required to offer all Internet material on an “equivalent” basis.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6073629.html
The political debate in Washington over the concept known as Net neutrality just became a lot more complicated.

Some of the largest hardware makers in the world, including 3M, Cisco Systems, Corning and Qualcomm, sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday firmly opposing new laws mandating Net neutrality--the concept that broadband providers must never favor some Web sites or Internet services over others.

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/0,39020330,39270681,00.htm
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web, has called for clear separation between Internet access and Internet content.

snip

"There is an effort by some companies in the US to change this. There's an attempt to get to a situation where if I want to watch a TV station across the Internet, that TV station must have paid to transmit to me."

Net neutrality is the concept that all Internet content should be treated equally by broadband providers without any kind of discrimination. It has become a hot political topic this year, especially in America, amid fears that telcos may start blocking some Web sites or charge users extra to access them.

Companies such as Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have been lobbying US politicians to introduce laws that would make Net neutrality mandatory. These moves have been opposed by broadband providers and some hardware manufacturers.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

3. Thank you so much

for the thorough response. I feel enlightened!