Save the Internet

KEY BACKGROUND FACTS ABOUT NET NEUTRALITY

1) Net Neutrality was the law of the land until the Bush FCC recently slated it for elimination. It is the underpinning for the Internet American's know and love. The question now is whether it will be reinstated.

An academic summary of Net Neutrality's history is located in the Duke Law & Technology Review's July 18, 2006 piece, "The End of Net Neutrality." 

A good layman's summary of the issue is located in the New Yorker's March 20, 2006 piece, "Net Losses."

2) Telephone executives have already said what they will do if Net Neutrality is permanently eliminated – slow down some websites and censor online video.

"William L. Smith, chief technology officer for Atlanta-based BellSouth Corp., told reporters and analysts that an Internet service provider such as his firm should be able, for example, to charge Yahoo Inc. for the opportunity to have its search site load faster than that of Google Inc." (Washington Post, December 1, 2005)

Randall Stephenson, now CEO of AT&T, said: "We're going to control the video on our network. The content guys will have to make a deal with us." (Tech industry newsletter, October 2005)

3) There is not currently a competitive Internet market – meaning, consumers can't switch away from Internet providers who have bad services or bad practices (like degrading some websites or videos).

According to the Government Accountability Office, the average U.S. household has just two broadband providers to choose from. (In Washington DC, the choices are Verizon and Comcast – both of whom oppose Net Neutrality.)

According to the FCC, 96% of U.S. residential broadband lines are either cable modem or DSL (phone company).  In almost every location where both services are available, consumers can only choose from one cable modem provider and one DSL provider (phone company).