You might be asking yourself, what’s this net neutrality thing I keep hearing about? Well, I asked myself the same question and decided to educate myself on the topic so that I could form my own opinions on the matter. So, what is net neutrality?

Network neutrality is a principle of internet regulation with particular relevance to the regulation of broadband. It suggests that (1) to maximize human welfare, information networks ought be as neutral as possible between various uses or applications, and (2) if necessary, government ought intervene to promote or preserve the neutrality of the network. – Wikipedia

Let’s dig deeper into net neutrality. See, we’ve come to expect that what’s delivered to us on the internet, regardless of provider, comes unaltered. This means the cable and phone companies providing us our internet access are “neutral” when it comes to the information we request using our leased internet connection through them. However, the telecom giants want to begin charging the companies that provide us information via the web, stating that it’s “just offering another tier of service”. Right! Do we buy that? If you ask me, had the forefathers known about the coming technological revolution and birth of the internet, unfettered internet access would be a God-given right scribed directly into the United States Bill of Rights, as part of the first amendment.

Currently, there are no legal restrictions placed on the telecoms when it comes to neutrality. However, our current system is that of full network neutrality, but due to some of the ramblings by some of the largest telecom companies (AT&T!), many are getting worried. AT&T Chairman Edward E. Whitacre Jr. recently complained stating “They don’t have any fiber out there. They don’t have any wires. . . . They use my lines for free — and that’s bull,…For a Google or a Yahoo or a Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes for free is nuts!”

As you can imagine, Google, Yahoo, Ebay, Amazon, and many other large internet companies don’t like the rhetoric spewing from Whitacre. Proving my point, Google has created a Google Help Center page dedicated to this topic alone. There’s even a link to an open letter from Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, Inc., on the page. Due to the importance of this issue, and the fact that congressional hearings are ongoing in this matter, I’ve decided to include Eric Schmidt’s open letter in this blog.

A Note to Google Users on Net Neutrality:

The Internet as we know it is facing a serious threat. There’s a debate heating up in Washington, DC on something called “net neutrality” âÂ?Â? and it’s a debate that’s so important Google is asking you to get involved. We’re asking you to take action to protect Internet freedom.

In the next few days, the House of Representatives is going to vote on a bill that would fundamentally alter the Internet. That bill, and one that may come up for a key vote in the Senate in the next few weeks, would give the big phone and cable companies the power to pick and choose what you will be able to see and do on the Internet.
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Today the Internet is an information highway where anybody âÂ?Â? no matter how large or small, how traditional or unconventional âÂ?Â? has equal access. But the phone and cable monopolies, who control almost all Internet access, want the power to choose who gets access to high-speed lanes and whose content gets seen first and fastest. They want to build a two-tiered system and block the on-ramps for those who can’t pay.

Creativity, innovation and a free and open marketplace are all at stake in this fight. Please call your representative (202-224-3121) and let your voice be heard.

Thanks for your time, your concern and your support.

Eric Schmidt

Do you now understand the importance of this issue? The lack of net neutrality will not only stop innovation in its tracks, but change the face of the internet as we know it. In order to get to the top, a companies’ primary goal will not be to provide a great service, but how to negotiate with the telecoms for that top spot. The internet is an integral part of not only the U.S. infrastructure and economy, but is partly responsible for the hyper world economy we’ve experienced the past 10 or more years. Changing the way we access the information on the net could have a devastating ripple effect throughout the world economy.

Further evidence that net neutrality is becoming more of a critical issue is a recent article, one that landed on the home page of Digg, from Ars Technica titled Pearl Jam censored by AT&T, calls for a neutral ‘Net. The article is in response to another open letter, from Pearl Jam to their fansâÂ?Â?a letter in which Pearl Jam railed against media and ISP consolidation and called for readers to support network neutrality. You can read the letter here.

There’s only one way to protect the internet and force net neutrality, and unfortunately that’s through effective governmental legislation. I cringe at the thought of government control, but the telecoms leave us no choice. When an issue relates to infrastructure that’s depended upon by hundreds of millions and is an integral part of the world as we know it, action must be taken. What action can you take? Contact your elected representatives and send them a message telling them that this is an issue you care about. Congress.org’s Congressional Directory is a great place to start.