Knight Bytes Jason Thompson, Network Assistant | Network neutrality and why it is
important to youImagine getting into your car to take a trip to the grocery store. You start on your way, and notice that the speed limit is now set for each make and model of car. In addition, some models are not allowed to access this road at all. Sound farfetched? It is not too far from what is being planned for the internet.
The Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE) is being debated in Congress. This bill would enable your internet service provider (ISP) to allow or disallow access to websites and services based upon the payment of a fee. If a website or service did not pay this fee, you may see degraded service. An ISP could also limit the choice of internet browser utilized to get through its network. Imagine if Interstate 65 were suddenly only for use by General Motors vehicles. The internet would begin to look more like cable television - you would see only the content your provider wanted you to see, when and how it wanted you to see it.
Essentially, almost overnight you could lose access to most small websites. If your business has a webpage, you would be faced with paying these fees. The alternative would be to watch your webpage slowly disappear from the internet. And it wouldn’t necessarily be a single fee; each ISP could demand a fee for allowing access to content. A small company, for example, could find itself paying fees to InsightBB, Cinergy, BellSouth, SBC, AOL and MSN.
Even major sites such as Google and MSN could be at risk of limitation. Do you use MSN to track your stocks? Not if Microsoft doesn’t pay your ISP to allow access. If this bill were to pass, your ISP could even insist that you use a specific browser.
In May, the House Judiciary Committee passed H.R. 5417, the “Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006,” which forbids the preferential treatment mentioned above. The next hurdle is a full vote on the House floor. If you wish to make a difference, contact your member of Congress and ask him or her to vote to protect the freedom of information across the internet. You can also join an online coalition such as www.savetheinternet.com.
Email Jason at Jason_Thompson@mnccpa.com | 
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