- Social:
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Director of Community Broadband Networks at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance
PROFILE
Christopher Mitchell
Guest
FROM Christopher Mitchell
To the Point
Is "Net Neutrality" Essential to the American Way of Life? The Federal Communications Commission is faced with a crucial decision on open access to the Internet. A survey shows 80 percent of Americans want the FCC to prohibit providers from giving enhanced access to customers that pay more. Now the President agrees . But providers — like Time Warner Cable, Verizon and AT&T — say that will discourage innovations and investments that improve service for everyone. As the pressure rises for FCC action, will there be toll lanes on the information super highway.
To the Point
And the Internet Goes to…the Highest Bidder? On May 15 the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to announce new rules for the Internet. The FCC is proposing new rules that would create a faster transmission for telecom giants who pay top dollar, like Verizon or Comcast, and a slower one for the little guys. Internet activists say that this two-tiered system amounts to a body blow to a long cherished philosophy of net neutrality – the idea that all data on the web should be allowed to flow from data servers to users without discrimination by the network middlemen. Is the agency giving control of our access to corporate interests, or might new regulations create a more competitive market and better service for consumers? Whatever happened to President Obama's promise of a free and open Internet? We hear about "pay to play" broadband and how it might affect innovation and free speech.
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