From its beginnings, the Internet was built on a cooperative, democratic ideal. It has leveled the playing field for all comers. Everyday people can have their voices heard by thousands, even millions of people. Network neutrality has prevented gatekeepers from blocking or discriminating against new economic, political and social ideas.

The major telecommunications legislation now under consideration in Congress is threatening this "network neutrality" to keep the Internet free and open to all.

Last Wednesday, as part of a vote on new telecommunications legislation, House Commerce Committee members defeated an amendment by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) to protect net neutrality, 34-22.

However, Senators Olympia Snowe (R-MI), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have all introduced legislation in the Senate that would ban network providers from degrading content or creating “toll lanes” where content providers can ensure better access to their sites in exchange for paying more money.

In other words, the Internet of the future could have a fork in the road of the Information Highway: One will lead to a fast lane (containing your internet provider's choices and paying customers); the other will be a dirt road with lots of potholes and dead ends.

How could his affect you? What if AT&T and Verizon blocked you from viewing your favorite podcasts and blogs? BellSouth cut off your net phone because you weren’t using their service? Comcast forced you to download MP3s from their store while slowing other music sites? How about being charged for every email you send? More: http://www.savetheinternet.com/=threat

This isn’t just speculation -- we've already seen what happens elsewhere when the Internet's gatekeepers get too much control. Last year, Telus -- Canada's version of AT&T -- blocked their Internet customers from visiting a Web site sympathetic to workers with whom the company was having a labor dispute. And Madison River, a North Carolina ISP, already tried to block its customers from using any competing Internet phone service.

This threat is more real than you might think. The telecom companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars and many years lobbying for their position. Right now, CEOs of major telecommunications companies are planning to discriminate against the online content and services that they don’t yet control.

Big telecom execs are on the record:
AT&T’s Ed Whitacre wants consumers and content providers to pay for use of his network. “The Internet can’t be free … for a Google or Yahoo or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes free is nuts.”
BellSouth’s William Smith told reporters that he would like to turn the Internet into a “pay-for-performance marketplace” where his company could charge for the “right” to have certain services load faster than others.
Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg says that Web applications need to “share the cost” of the broadband services already paid for by consumers. “We need to pay for the pipe.”

These bosses want to have it both ways — charging customers for access to broadband and content providers for access to those customers. Their comments are designed to boost revenues by giving preferential treatment to in-house high-end services (or those of other businesses who pay for the privilege of Net speed) while blocking or slowing access to the ones that you would rather use.

Here are the goals:
* Access Internet content of your choice (ie, web sites that your internet provider doesn't agree with or hasn't charged for faster speed);
* Run online applications and services of your choice (such as web browsers, email programs and music programs like iTunes);
* Connect your choice of devices (like webcams); and
* Have fair competition among network, application, service and content providers.

Here's a quick, easy and free way to let your voice be heard by all three of your congressional leaders at once:http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet
Vinton Cerf, “Father of the Internet”Computer networking pioneer Cerf asked Congress to rethink any legislation that would not contain tough neutrality provisions."This bill would do great damage to the Internet as we know it … Telephone companies cannot tell consumers who they can call; network operators should not dictate what people can do online."
http://www.savetheinternet.com/