I've had enough. Normally I'm a fairly lasseiz-faire kinda guy, but the telecom, cable, and Internet Provider companies have had a free ride long enough.
The FCC took a beating in court over trying to ensure that consumers could use Comcast's network as a network, and Comcast danced about it. So the FCC uses it's "Nuclear Option" and announces that it will re-classify the ISPs as telecommunications providers... which causes much crying, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
Well, frankly, good for the FCC! I honestly believe that on a fair-and-level playing field, when corporations are trying to make a profit in a reasonable fashion that government has no role in the affairs of business.
However, when business starts to try to screw over customers then maybe its time for government to step in and assure the consumer is treated fairly. I have no doubt that a lot of pro-business folks are virtually screaming at their monitors at this point. Those same folks are also the ones screaming "you have a choice" at their monitors. They're wrong and misinformed. For a lot of folks there is only one telephone provider, one Internet provider that serves their area. If that one provider decides to block traffic on their network then the consumer has no choice. Accept a less-than completely useful Internet connection, or no Internet connection at all. Sure, that's a choice, but its not the lasseiz-faire free choice it should be.
What most do not seem to understand is that in the Information Age access to information is a fundamental human right. The Internet providers want to charge for every bit at the expense of the end-user. You may not think this affects you, until you can't get the information you need or the provider has made it prohibitively expensive to do so.
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