In some respects it already is. You pay your ISP for access.
David
"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it
costs when it's free
"If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it
costs when it's free."*---P. J. O'Rourke*
On 1/16/2014 1:01 PM, [email protected] wrote:
Editorial
*San Francisco Chronicle*
The Internet turns into a toll road
Published 4:58 pm, Wednesday, January 15, 2014
The Internet is a wide open highway for every kind of digital traffic.
But a federal appeals court decision changes this vital feature by
allowing firms who run the broadband pipelines to charge higher rates
for their bigger customers, meaning consumers could face larger bills
and spotty service.
The court case shreds the notion of "net neutrality," the doctrine
giving equal priority to all Internet traffic. Service providers such
as Comcast, Verizon and AT&T have chafed at the idea as they spend
billions to improve service. For these firms, it's time to charge
major users such as Netflix, Google and iTunes a higher rate since
their products are soaking up much of the bandwidth.
This business argument has major repercussions. If the ruling stands,
the Internet could fundamentally change, and not for the better.
Service will evolve into a toll road with movies, music and other
high-traffic commodities costing more. A website that doesn't want to
pay extra for quick connection will be shafted with slower service. It
won't be the open, accessible Internet any more.
There's a crumb of legal consolation in the decision, which may be
appealed to the Supreme Court
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=opinion%2Feditorials&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Supreme+Court%22>.
The Federal Communications Commission
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=opinion%2Feditorials&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Federal+Communications+Commission%22>,
which adopted a hands-off attitude as the Internet developed, could
seek new rules to oversee and moderate financial abuses. In fact, the
appeals court judges recognized that the agency had a role to play in
the Internet's future.
That next step will hinge on Washington's political mood. Republicans,
who want to restrain the FCC, aren't inclined to fight the court
decision, which came after years of legislative debate that went
nowhere. Democrats
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=opinion%2Feditorials&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Democrats%22>,
including President Obama, believe net neutrality should be preserved
as the online world plays an ever-growing role in society.
Rep. Anna Eshoo
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=opinion%2Feditorials&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Anna+Eshoo%22>,
a Democrat who represents a tech-dominated Peninsula district, said
the case meant that "the open Internet suffers a blow, but it is
not irreparable."
It will be up to her and the rest of Congress to modernize Internet
oversight. Access and innovation can't be left to the whims of a
handful of major firms running an indispensable part of modern life.
--
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