Internet Highway Robbery

Major U.S. internet service providers want to effectively add a toll lane by giving priority to those who are willing to pay for faster data throughput.

“Whether they tier their service or not, telecommunications companies need to expand capacity. To do so costs money, and the telecoms argue that Internet users will have to pay, one way or another. They say it’s preferable that the money come from those who need and are willing to pay for better service, rather than spreading the cost out over all users.”

A Google executive thinks otherwise:

“Allowing broadband carriers to control what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success,” Vinton Cerf told a Senate committee recently. Cerf, who played a key role in building the Internet, is now the “Chief Internet Evangelist” at Google Inc.

My take on this comes from a cynical point of view. Instead of “upgrading” the net, who’s to say they won’t just filter down their services and make us pay extra for a service that is readily available? My ISP already offers three levels of “broadband” and it seems to me it’s already happening and the media is only just figuring it out now.

They call it marketing. I call it a cash grab. Perhaps it’s time that we redefine the term broadband. Choose your flavour — we got high speed, higher speed, even higher speed with smoother porn videos for your viewing pleasure, and for the most demanding power surfers…