According to the FCC, “The 'Open Internet' is the internet as we know it. It's open because it uses free, publicly available standards that anyone can access and build to, and it treats all traffic that flows across the network in roughly the same way. The principle of the Open Internet is sometimes referred to as 'net neutrality.' Under this principle, consumers can make their own choices about what applications and services to use and are free to decide what lawful content they want to access, create, or share with others. This openness promotes competition and enables investment and innovation. The Open Internet also makes it possible for anyone, anywhere to easily launch innovative applications and services, revolutionizing the way people communicate, participate, create, and do business—think of email, blogs, voice and video conferencing, streaming video, and online shopping. Once you're online, you don't have to ask permission or pay tolls to broadband providers to reach others on the network. If you develop an innovative new website, you don't have to get permission to share it with the world."
In the late 1960’s the Defense Department through the Advanced Research Projects Agency conceptualized and began a system of interconnected data transmitting pathways to move information from one place to another without interruption. As with many innovations, this was initially started for national security purposes and as it developed it later became known as the internet.
In the 1980’s the National Science Foundation, through continued government funding for lab research further developed and expanded this internet technology and infrastructure. This research became the backbone of our internet today.
In the 1990’s, the government shared the technology it developed with public research dollars with the private sector for commercialization purposes. The World Wide Web was launched for business and commerce using the internet technology first developed by the public sector.
Today, the information super highway is going strong and getting stronger every day. Government research and development started it all and played an important t role in helping to create all the jobs associated with the internet and world-wide web today.
Now, anyone with a computer or mobile device can pay an Internet Service Provider like AT&T for access to the internet and have at your fingertips all the information on the World Wide Web while being treated basically the same. Once accessed, the smallest business upstart can get the same broadband service as the largest corporation, promoting business competition. A poor child growing up in rural Tennessee has the ability to access the same content as a wealthy child growing up in New York or Beverly Hills promoting knowledge and learning for everyone regardless of income. Once on the net, there are no additional charges for the amount of time you spent on it. Once accessed, you can spend all day or just a few minutes and there is no limit to the times you can log on. This “net neutrality” is a good thing for people and can be considered a return on our initial investment of public tax dollars for the internet technology that was developed.
A free and open internet promotes innovation and competition, preserves free market principles, prevents unfair pricing practices of monopolistic style ISP’s, promotes free speech and a fair internet playing field for the general public.
Without a free and open internet (net neutrality), the big companies that now control the initial access points to the information superhighway will tighten their grip over it. There will be little to stop Internet Service Providers from blocking or slowing connections to certain online content unless we as individual consumers and small business owners agree to pay the “big guys” more for faster speeds, longer browsing sessions and access to specific content we may want to access like Facebook, Google Maps, You Tube, Twitter, Chattanoogan etc.
Internet technology was initially developed with public funds. Let’s preserve some public control over how this vital public utility is used for the benefit of all of us. Support the FCC in preserving “net neutrality.”
Tim Gobble
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Tim Gobble has written an excellent opinion piece on "Net Neutrality." I could not have done as well as he did in his description of the issues facing us. It is refreshing to read an article about the internet and internet service providers by someone who actually knows what he is talking about.
Everett Kidder