manchicken here…

Net neutrality is an issue that is near and dear to my heart.  I live in a small town in Central Illinois where I only have two choices when it comes to broadband internet: Mediacom (cable) and Verizon (ADSL).  There is virtually no competition, and since I work out of my house over the internet, a network connection is something that I cannot support my family and myself without.

Handsoff.org is a lobbyist group in Arlington, VA that prides itself on twisting facts, and misrepresenting modern challenges in order to help the companies they’re helping make more money.  I have no problem with companies making more money, but I do have a problem with companies making more money when it hurts the people, and without net neutrality these companies are hurting the people.

I listen to lots of gaming podcasts and on one of them I heard an argument that handsoff.org used that is flawed at its core.  The argument is that it’s not fair for the telecoms to facilitate other companies making money using their networks without getting a cut.  This argument doesn’t come anywhere near applying to other markets.  The other big service provided by telecom companies–telephone–is far from applicable on this front.  At no point has a phone carrier ever been permitted to charge companies or consumers more because the content of the phone call resulted in money changing hands.  The telephone is a utility–like broadband is.

What about energy companies?  If we let broadband folks get away with this argument what’s to stop gas stations from charging taxi cabs more for regular unleaded than a soccer mom?  What’s to keep the power company from limiting service to a small retail store because they didn’t pay the upgrade fee like Wal-Mart did?

Net neutrality is essential to the continued growth and innovation online, and for these lobbyists to spread these lies about the internet being “near capacity” is dishonest.  Leaders in the US House of Representatives are being wined and dined by these jackasses and we’re suffering the resulting business outcome.  Even my local congressman in the 15th congressional district of Illinois–Timothy Johnson–is fighting against the utility that my family needs in order to make a living.

I know some of you will be surprised that I’m so passionately angry about this subject, but I’m currently suffering some network spying on at the hands of my internet service provider.  Mediacom has begun a program that monitors your network traffic and if you type a URL that takes too long to respond, Mediacom will redirect you to THEIR search engine–with ads on it of course–as a “service.”  While they’re not selling my information or giving it away to the feds (that I know of yet) they’re still monitoring my traffic.  This means slower response times, and it also means that every once in a while when their spy service loses track of my opt-out status, I get to see their ugly page again.

Tim Johnson should be ashamed of himself for selling out, and handsoff.org should be exposed for the lying whoremongers they are.  The American people deserve better than this.  Our government should *NOT* be spending taxpayer money trying to help the companies… it should be spending taxpayer money trying to help the people.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 25th, 2008 at 08:18 and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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