Craig Burton

Lowdown on net nuetrality: "

“Network neutrality” is the highly controversial question of whether internet service providers ( ISP) should be allowed to exercise their corporate free speech rights to favor access to web content they favor or whether ISPs should be treated like common carriers like old fashioned telephone companies. Advocates of Cable companies who are also ISPs want to assert their freedom to invest more in faster access to higher quality content and claim that investment dollars would be slow if net neutrality advocates force them to "spend" their bandwidth equally. Their opponents have noted that prior cases where ISPs have blocked access to web content which were critical of them.

Nowadays the term “net neutrality” is being talked about a lot. Basically it means there are attempts being made to make the Internet sites not free anymore for web companies! Result no net nuetality! In other word the fact that there was and is no problem now for computers to freely communicate to one another is being planned for a change. The proposed push for a pay-for-speed Internet pricing structure that the cable and phone companies, that provide high-speed Internet connections, could charge Web sites for getting to you.

For Internet users like you and me it could also mean fewer sites to access and therefore lesser choice and we may get stuck with what the big players like Microsoft or Google offers us. Net result lesser number of sites gets viewed and serious lack of innovative ideas from smaller sites who can’t afford to pay the ISPs.

Net-neutrality opponents, however, argue that these scenarios aren't happening now and that net neutrality attempts to solve a problem that doesn't exist. From a business perspective, opponents say, Internet providers understand that customers won't tolerate that sort of treatment of the Internet. It's in their best interests to keep all Internet traffic flowing at an equal speed, reports the Washington Post.

However, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee has narowly rejected an amendment to bar broadband high-speed Internet providers from discriminating against content or services. What happens remains to be seen. Are you liking this proposed ammendement of the Internet?

A more serious look at net neutrality. Nasty stuff.