NET for Them, NOT for Us

Google slow, VerizonSearch.com fast. eBay SLOW, BellsouthAuctions.com FAST. Blogger.com ssllllooooowww…. AT&TBlog.com F>ST. This could be the internet of the future as the Internet Service Provider giants continue to lobby Congress for massive changes. These changes would allow the giants to limit the bandwidth of certain users and increase it for others. If these changes occur, one can expect to see a huge decrease in online competition.

The network giants plan to charge large websites like eBay, Google, etc. higher fees for the amount of bandwidth that users currently use up when they visit their sites. (Ref 1) The result for us would be an increase in the fees we pay to use these sites (like for selling on ebay) or in much slower use of the sites.

Another effect would be limited use of personal bandwidth like downloading music and videos. The ISPs could add controls to automatically slow down your internet access when certain data files are detected. Of course, the downloads of movies from VerizonMovies.com would go at max speed!

But wait, it’s not just the ISPs that want changes to the internet. The Department of Justice wants laws passed that require the ISPs to keep user Data for up to two years! This includes all the websites one visits and all the files they download. (Ref 2) First our phones, now our internet??

So, by now you might be wondering, “What can I do?” Check out this website: http://www.itsournet.org/ From here, you can sign up and a letter can be sent in your behalf to an involved Congress member telling him or her how you DON'T want this legislation to go through. It’s a very quick process. The site also has links to many relevant articles on this topic.


1.Business Week


2. Another Link