FCC kills Net Neutrality

[purist]

Now that the FCC has killed Net Neutrality, will us peasants be forced to hobble together our own decentralized "mesh network" ISPs out of living room routers and roof-mounted antennas?

Because sooner or later, it's going to be either that, or an Internet that's divided up into fast and slow lanes. The FCC’s proposed internet rules present two gaping obstacles to neutrality:

#1 - They would allow the telecom companies to block any apps and services they want from the mobile internet (except ones that compete with their services, because that would qualify as anti-trust behavior).

#2 - For the non-mobile web, it would allow telecoms to charge sites a fee for decent load times, relegating non-paying sites to ‘slow lanes’ which would make it harder for readers to access them.

Both are serious blows to the whole idea of “neutrality.” So, get ready for a future of pay-per-service, pay-per-page internet fees. The new, "freer" internet will look something like paying $0.02 per MB to use Facebook, $6.00 a month to use Skype and $0.50 monthly for a speed-limited version of Youtube.

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The above image is taken directly from a PowerPoint presentation by Allot Communications and Openet - suppliers to large wireless companies including AT&T and Verizon - that was sent to Wired by a source from within the industry. It's all in there, making it possible for your wireless provider to monitor everything you do online and charge you extra for using Facebook, Skype of Netflix. Check the seventh slide.

Of course, Obama championed true net neutrality in his campaign, promising to “take a back seat to no one in [his] commitment to Net Neutrality.” but his administration is now praising the FCC’s new proposal.

Hmm, could that be because of WikiLeaks?