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Free Internet in Danger?


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[sal from cadillacowners.com sent this note over]

If you enjoy using the internet, things may be about to take a drastic turn south.

Right now Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the First Amendment of the Internet -- a principle called "network neutrality" that preserves the free and open Internet. Congress needs to hear from you today or they WILL hand over control of what you do online to companies like AT&T, Verizon and Cablevision.

Politicians are trading favors for campaign donations from these companies. They're being wooed by people like AT&T's CEO, who says "the Internet can't be free." Sign this petition to tell your elected representatives to protect Internet freedom now.

The nation's largest telephone and cable companies including AT&T, Verizon, Cablevision and Time Warner want to be the Internet gatekeepers, deciding which Web sites go fast or slow and which won't load at all.

They want to tax web sites to guarantee speedy delivery of their data. They want to discriminate in favor of their own search engines, Internet phone services, and streaming video - while slowing down or blocking their competitors.

These companies have a new vision for the Internet. Instead of an even playing field, they want to reserve express lanes for their own content and services - or those from big corporations that can afford the steep tolls - and leave the rest of us on a winding dirt road.

If Congress turns the Internet over to the telephone and cable giants, everyone who uses the Internet will be affected. Connecting to your office could take longer if you don't purchase your carrier's preferred applications. Sending family photos and videos could slow to a crawl. Web pages you always use for online banking, access to health care information, planning a trip, or communicating with friends and family could fall victim to pay-for-speed schemes.

What's at stake?

Decisions being made now will shape the future of the Internet for a generation. Before long, all media - TV, phone and the Web - will come to your home via the same broadband connection. The dispute over Net Neutrality is about who'll control access to new and emerging technologies.

On the Internet, consumers are in ultimate control - deciding between content, applications and services available anywhere, no matter who owns the network. There's no middleman. But without Net Neutrality, the Internet will look more like cable TV. Network owners will decide which channels, content and applications are available; consumers will have to choose from their menu.

Remember, you may not hear much about this in the mainstream as many of these News, TV, and media companies own in on this debate. They are keeping you quite by limiting the information available to you; a classic example of exactly why they should never get full control of the Internet.

More ways this threat to Internet freedom will affect you:

http://www.savetheinternet.com/=threat

Please visit Save The Internet for more information:

http://www.savetheinternet.com

Sign the Petition

http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet

Talk about this with fellow Cadillac owners and enthusiasts here:

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/cadil...html#post725578

Forward this message to family and friends!

Thank you,

Sal Collaziano

CadillacOwners.com

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Another rumor given too much publicity?? There have been many previous examples of this type of story repeated often enough that it just has to be true.

After reading all the "promotional" material referenced here, I found no mention of a House or Senate Bill number. Legitimate reporting on pending congresssional action (votes) always always always provides a Bill number. Without exception.

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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More reading I found on this topic:

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3612941

http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3612256

Apparently at issue is an amendment to HR5252.

http://www.freepress.net/congress/billinfo.php?id=169

The phone/cable companies (AT&T, Verizon), would like high content providers to pay more for high bandwidth, using a two-tiered billing system.

I am not certain what they mean here. Providers now pay for the internet by the gigabyte/month (GB) of outgoing bandwidth, and internet users pay for an internet connection at a particular rate by the month. I think they mean that a site like Amazon would not only pay for the more GB of bandwidth they use, but also a higher rate per GB as a high rate user?

Currently, all traffic is prioritized, treated and priced the same from the smallest of Web sites to Internet giants such as Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and Amazon.

Under the cable and telco scheme, fees will be imposed for heavy users.

The high content providers (google, Ebay, Yahoo, Amazon) want a flat system, which they term as net neutrality.

Congress is determining whether to not get involved at all, let the FCC handle it, or legislate.

My personal favorite quote was from Ted Stevens, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee:

I felt it would be difficult to legislate to fix a 'problem' before Congress really understood what the problem is," Stevens said. "The more I seek to find what the problem is, the harder job I have of trying to define it.

This type of wisdom gives me hope.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

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Guys like Stevens may save us from ourselves and too much government. I still miss Sam Ervin from the Watergate hearings days.

Those interested in reading the language of the house version of the bill can go here http://thomas.loc.gov/ and select Bill Number and enter "hr5252".

This bill faces several more hurdles however. The Senate is likely to hold hearings and the Committee will have to agree on the language of a Senate Bill. If it passes the full Senate there could easily be a conference committee to resolve the differences in language between the House version and the Senate version.

All this before Congress adjourns in an election year will be a mighty tough climb.

There are several other provisions included that might interest some on here. One item deals with VOIP providers and FCC (referred to as "the Commission" in the bill) enforcement of E911.

Another directs the FCC to conduct interference studies regarding BPL installations.

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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Ah. Now I think this argument is REALLY about the future of video on the internet, between the current cable and internet (TV over fiber optic in Verizon's case) providers and potential future providers.

If google or yahoo offerred free/inexpensive cable TV and Movies on demand over the internet it would make a strong case for not paying for cable every month.

Bruce

2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing

Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube

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