MaineBusiness.com

Net neutrality regulations would ultimately put everyone in the slow lane and who would hurt the most? Probably small businesses.

Your readers should watch this video from the Fiber to the Home Council, which illustrates the broadband crunch we face as country, before making a decision about net neutrality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4988qaCvvM

I do some consulting for Hands Off the Internet, a coalition working to strengthen the net's infrastructure. Thanks for your support.

"Hands Off the Internet, a coalition working to strengthen the net's infrastructure"

Hardly, Hands Off the Internet is an astroturf group funded by the telecom companies to give the appearance that there is grassroots support for a scheme that essentially has the Internet providers double dipping and creating a third revenue stream. Innovation will suffer without Net Neutrality protections. And I would say the FTTH Council is not exactly a neutral observer.

"FTTH Council members represent all areas of broadband industries, including telecommunications, computing, networking, system integration, engineering, and content-provider companies, as well as traditional telecommunications service providers, utilities and municipalities."

http://www.ftthcouncil.org/?t=30

and here is a pro-Net Neutrality video that wasn't funded by a company with a stake in this issue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWt0XUocViE

Hey OpenNet...not sure who posted on your blog yesterday, but I'm also a member of the Hands Off the Internet coalition. You make the point that some groups advocating against net neutrality aren't neutral observers because they have a financial stake in the issue, and that is correct.

However it is inaccurate to suggest that people on the pro-net neutrality side do not have a financial stake in this issue. Google, eBay and many other content providers (who, it should be noted, have a far, far higher profit margin than any telecom company does) stand to gain millions, perhaps even billions of dollars if they can convince Congress to write net neutrality regulations into law.

So if Google and other content providers will save millions of dollars, who will net neutrality hurt? Well according to a new study: the average consumer. This new study found that passing net neutrality laws would cost consumers an extra $69 BILLIION in the next ten years, and it would hurt lower income consumers the most:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news/index_mail.shtml?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-09-2007/0004584325&EDATE=

I hope your readers will recognize there are profit motives on both sides of this issue, but we should be doing what is best for the average internet user, and it seems clear that opposing net neutrality would benefit them the most.

Of course there's a financial stake to both sides. I'm a small business owner, and I'm concerned that I don't want Verizon or AT&T making decisions on who gets on the fast lane based on who ponies up the most dough. That will hurt small businesses across the board.

Also, like most anti-net neutrality folks, you try and make it seem like this is new legislation...extra government bureaucracy. However, net neutrality has always been part of the Internet until highly compensated lobbyists convinced congress to remove it; a congress that believes that the Internet is just a series of tubes.

I'm not sure how the "average Internet user" would benefit by not reinstating Net Neutrality. I think unfettered access to all Web sites, whether or not they are Verizon partners would be in the best interest of ALL Internet users.