Welcome to the Fastlane
Yesterday we featured an article in our Premium newsletter praising the FCC for voting in favor of keeping the Internet equally accessible to everyone with an Internet connection. Needless to say we were surprised when we received quite a few emails dissing us for supporting Net Neutrality.
However, from the anti-net-neutrality emails we received, we got the impression that many don’t understand that Net Neutrality doesn’t mean that everyone pays the same price for Internet access or that everyone gets the same Internet connection speed – prices for Internet access and speeds vary – genarlly the more you pay the faster your Internet connection is. That has nothing to do with Net Neutrality.
Net Neutrality guarantees that everyone has equal access to the Internet; that certain sites and content providers won’t be able to pay to be on Fast Lanes while those who can’t afford to pay will be relegated to slow lanes where even those with high-speed Internet will find those sites and content providers on slow lanes to be annoyingly slow to load. Net Neutrality also prevents ISPs from throttling users’ access to certain sites and content providers – generally the ones who don’t want to ante up to be on the fast lanes.
The idea is that then Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon, AT&T would not only be able to offer you Internet access but also bundle content, much like cable TV providers already do – for instance for $59.95 a month you may get 100 channels; for $79.95 you might bet 150 channels, and for $119.95 a month you get 200 channels plus so-called premium channels like Showtime, HBO, etc.
Finally, we already have Net Neutrality. It’s not like Thursday vote will change anything. We’ve all enjoyed equal access to the Internet for as long as the Internet as been around. And that’s why Thundercloud.net pages load as fast as Microsoft, Amazon, Adobe, Fox News, CNN, and others – who could surely afford to ante up to be on the fast lane if Net Neutrality were not preserved. But Thundercloud.net and all our Cloudeight Web pages would be annoyingly slow or even inaccessible – simply because we can’t pay to be included on the top tier of sites – the fast lane. And not only Cloudeight but thousands and thousands of other smaller but useful sites would find themselves in very difficult situations if Net Neutrality were not preserved.
Anyone who starts a retail store on Main Street joins all the other stores on Main Street, and everyone who shops on Main Street has equal access to all stores on Main Street. That’s what we have now on the Internet. Everyone has equal access to every legal thing on the Internet. Net Neutrality simple preserves what we already have.
Then we have the anti-government argument. We kind of had to laugh. Most of the people who wrote about “government bungling” and “big government” are recipients of Social Security and enjoy the benefits of Medicare. It’s funny how people are against government regulation unless those policies and regulations benefit them. I wonder how many of those who wrote chewing us out for our support of Net Neutrality would give up their Social Security or Medicare?
Everything is relative. We don’t want this to be a political debate. We just want everyone to know the truth. Net Neutrality is not a done deal – you can be sure Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and others will be pouring millions of dollars into getting rid of it. Why? Because those millions of dollars they’ll be spending will turn into billions of dollars if they’re successful in getting rid of Net Neutrality – and they’ll prevaricate, obfuscate, orchestrate, and spin until they convince consumers that these huge corporations only want a “fair ” Internet. If you actually believe that we’re better off living in a plutocracy, then heaven help us. It’s really hard to believe that Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and others have our backs when it comes to Net Neutrality.
Anyway, if you think Net Neutrality is a bad thing because you generalize that any government meddling is a bad thing, then give up Medicare, Social Security, and join Verizon, AT&T, Comcast and the other big Internet providers in their crusade to convince you that they have your best interests at heart as they spend millions trying do away with Net Neutrality.
And now here’s a glimpse of what you’d see if Net Neutrality no longer protected equal access to the Internet.
I like many others did not understand all that was being said about “Net Neutrality”. I even had trouble understanding the things you were saying. So, I waited until after the fact to see if you approved of the actions the FCC took. You do, so I will sleep better knowing that. 😉
Good for you, Irene. It’s a smart person who doesn’t take sides until they can understand both. When you still can”t understand, isn’t it great to have someone (like TC and EB) with the understanding and ability (on this issue anyway) to cut through the “smoke and mirrors” and crap, and without a doubt, you know they will chose what’s in YOUR best interest. It seems like a complicated issue, but only because the industry knows that the more complicated they can make it, they can “sugarcoat” or, through scare-tactics, manipulate YOUR thinking into what they want you to believe. Don’t you wonder sometimes, with TV, WHY there are hundreds of TV channels to watch and WHY you can’t pick (and pay for) the channels YOU want….even if you can only afford the “basic” package…of say, 150 channel choices, and you don’t like any of them. It’s a good thing the law requires that they provide the channels provided FREE by THE GOVERNMENT (by the way) — the MAJOR networks (not cable networks). Oh yeah….somehow you PAY the cable companies for the “ability” to receive them.
You pay (usually too much) because if you want to watch TV at all. that’s your ONLY choice.
I will take a “stab in the dark” here. You’ve done a wonderful job..again…trying to explain what loosing “net neutrality” would mean. … and LOOSING net neutrality is what this whole political thing is about. I bet NONE of the people who sent you emails in protest (using the “government” intervention excuse) haven’t taken the time to read ANY article you, or anybody else, has written explaining what it means to you, me, and them. They don’t even KNOW that “net neutrality” is what they’ve been enjoying for decades, and corporations are trying to take it away just to exploit us. THANK GOD somebody (Tom Wheeler, FCC Chair) actually IN the government, had the guts to do something about it. I was very surprised, because Mr. Wheeler’s background was neck deep in the telecom industry and knows full-well what they were up to, and fortunately has a conscience and stopped yet another greedy and self-serving industry from “putting the screws” to us—–AGAIN. This time, IN SPITE of the arm of the government that doesn’t give a damn about you and me. Guess what! They’re trying to do the same thing with Medicare and Social Security…….by giving those funds to corporations (Wall Street) to “gamble” with. PLEASE PAY ATTENTION The Government isn’t bad….It’s the people you vote to represent you that are sometimes…just plain CROOKS. If you don’t vote, but chose to be puppets instead, then don’t complain..and that includes people on Social Security. You are already at risk.
By the way, I live on Social Security, too.
I’m glad you explained that part about voting for the right people. It is SO important that people go to vote, AND they should make sure they research all sides of an issue and understand it, not rely on others’ OPINIONS. Form your own.
Thanks again TC for taking your valuable time to make issues understandable.
If “net neutrality” is such a ‘good’ deal, why did they not release the hundreds of pages of rules & regulations before they shoved it through. I sincerely hope it turns out OK, but, can anyone name one thing that the government got involved with that didn’t turn to crap.
In case folks are interested, Ron Paul write a great article explaining the “other” side of this story.
“Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a non-elected federal government agency, voted three-to-two to reclassify broadband Internet as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act. This means that – without the vote of Congress, the peoples’ branch of government – a federal agency now claims the power to regulate the Internet. I am surprised that even among civil liberties groups, some claim the federal government increasing regulation of the Internet somehow increases our freedom and liberty.
“The truth is very different. The adoption of these FCC rules on the Internet represents the largest regulatory power grab in recent history. The FCC’s newly adopted rule takes the most dynamic means of communication and imposes the regulatory structure designed for public utilities. Federal regulation could also open the door to de facto censorship of ideas perceived as threatening to the political class – ideas like the troops should be brought home, the PATRIOT Act should be repealed, military spending and corporate welfare should be cut, and the Federal Reserve should be audited and ended.
“The one bright spot in this otherwise disastrous move is that federal regulations making it more difficult to use the Internet will cause more Americans to join our movement for liberty, peace, and prosperity. The federal government should keep its hands off of the Internet! ”
http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/archives/peace-and-prosperity/2015/february/26/internet-rip/
Most of the ones that were chewing you out probably didn’t even have a clue as to how net neutrality works….. They hear the words “government involvement” and automatically think it’s a bad thing. I’ve read every article you’ve written about net neutrality and many others in the news or on the internet and was very happy when we all got the news the other day and in this case, I am very glad the government intervened. I just hope that others that are upset about it come to realize how important this really is for them……. Thank you very much for all the information you have shared about this……. Please keep up the good work because as we all know, this battle will continue…. The better informed people are the more they can get involved in favor of keeping things fair on the internet, and ultimately, for consumers.
you are so right Dee – mention the word ‘PENSIONS’ in AUSTRALIA & it is a ‘near death experience’ for politicians .. VOTE
We will get to see how it works now . I sided with passing it because I do not trust the people rooting against it .