Internet Slow Down Day
Internet slow down day came and went without inflicting any real slowdown on network traffic. The echoing halls of government had more traffic than usual yesterday. Phones were ringing and email boxes brimming with comments on the idea that giant telecommunications companies, near monopolies, should not have unbridled power over content of the net. This is net neutrality.
Internet slow down day called attention to the fact that millions of are not duped but actually care about giant corporations controlling the net. We feel that things will be better the way they were before the 2002 decision to consider the Telecoms and cable companies as Internet Service Providers. At least, the effort will not hurt. The more people are aware because of internet slow down day the likelier it is that the realize “Net neutrality advocates [want] to reclassify broadband service as a common-carrier public utility subject to a wide range of FCC regulations,” the better. The Telecom industry has been pushing hard. Their notion that regulation is bad is understandable. They are spending ~$1 million per week.
As the InfoWorld article quoted above makes clear, the FCC would be reclassifying Telecoms. They are communications companies. They are providing a service, but they are different from ISP of the early Internet period. The period of startling growth for the Net industry happened between 1996 and 2002 before the Powell era FCC changed the rules. I wrote this article about it last week.
A posting by Comcast Lobbyist Powell today stated, “Opponents of reclassification say it would apply outdated rules to the Web that were developed for 20th Century phone companies.” While true that the late 1990s were in the 20th century it paints a distorted picture of the issue. Here are the numbers from Internet slow down day.
Even though Internet Slow Down Day is Over
You can still use your voice now to let the FCC know how you feel.
More ways to take action here.