“Net Neutrality”…What is it? It was all over the news a couple of months ago… But more recently, the mainstream news has pretty much swept the issue under the proverbial rug. However, the issue is far from resolved. This is an issue that affects the consumer greatly. If Net Neutrality disappears, the effects will be akin to censorship… oh, and the amount you pay for Internet and other services will almost certainly increase.
Here’s my analogy for Net Neutrality. Maybe you’ve heard of the LIE, you know, that giant parking lot highway that runs through Long Island? If you’ve been on it, then you’re also familiar with how unbearable the traffic can be at times. Now, imagine that the Department of Transportation gave UPS, the USPS, FedEx (etc) the option of paying a fee to have a prioritized lane in each direction. The way it’d work is that the shipping companies would pay the fee, and then whenever they needed to use their lanes, other (non-prioritized) vehicles would be forced into one of the remaining lanes.
Here would be the effects:
1) the already congested highway becomes more congested (and slower) because more cars are packed into fewer lanes.
2) the shipping companies would not be happy about having to pay extra for this “privilege”, but they realize that if they don’t, people might not get their packages on time… The subsequent effect of this is that the shipping companies will now raise their shipping rates to make up for the difference.
3) Smaller shipping companies, the ones who can’t afford the high rates for use of the priority lanes….well, they would get lumped into the other traffic; their packages would end up taking longer to be delivered. Consequently, people would get frustrated and then these smaller companies are forced out of business.
The above scenario illustrates what could happen without Net Neutrality. Just replace the Department of Transportation with one of the internet providers, like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T or Cablevision.
Why is Net Neutrality important to maintain? Net Neutrality enables a fair, free and equal opportunity Internet to exist. Without Net Neutrality, we’re one step closer to having a censored Internet.
The bottom line… if the Internet providers get their way, and Net Neutrality disappears, then they’ll have the authority to disable services that directly compete with their own offerings. Furthermore, once you’re forced to use their services, they can raise their prices since they’ll no longer need to remain competitive. All in all, the only ones who benefit from dismantling Net Neutrality are the Internet providers themselves.
Say YES to KEEPING NET NEUTRALITY!
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