So What IS Net Neutrality?

There’s been a lot of havoc created over letters sent by nonprofit groups at the behest of AT&T to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) apparently opposing net neutrality – those letters have since been rescinded. This video provides a good explanation of what net neutrality is and why it’s so important. Please note that at the end, the commentator says the best position is no position – which is to say, to leave the Internet unregulated and free as it is. When I first heard that the FCC was proposing to regulate the Internet – I thought that was a bad thing, ie government interference and hence possible censorship. When I first heard that Internet providers wanted to expanded access into rural regions, I thought that was a good thing. But, as Adam Polaski reports at The Bilerico Project, the FCC wants to change six Internet principles into rules and now cover mobile devices to ensure open access. Providers like AT&T oppose these rules because they want to be able to charge different rates for access (and speed), though they couch it is terms suggesting they want to provide greater access to more people. Hence some of the confusion. Anyway – this is a really good primer on net neutrality.

Tagged as: Net neutrality