Net Neutrailty Continued

Network Neutrality is an issue that is particularly important to me, which is why I decided to do a follow up on my previous post starting with a leaked memo and accompanying story that can be found over at ArsTechnica. The basics of the story is that Time Warner under a new proposed system would have artificial bandwidth caps which have been discovered in an internal memo. This is not a new idea, Comcast has been accused several times of putting artificial bandwidth caps on users—limiting the amount of downloads the user can download in a month.

So whats the issue? The telecoms have not made it clear to users that bandwidth could be limited to any number. Besides being a shady business practice, it takes us down a slippery slope that could ultimately lead to a system much like telecoms have with cell phones; which notoriously bend over the consumer. You know, how you have to pay for the number of minutes you want and then pay for every feature you want on top of your initial monthly fee and then they have the audacity to charge heavy fees for going over on your minutes. Which can easily lead to a monthly cell phone bill of 100 dollars or more for just one person. But people have become apathetic about cell phone bills and consequently allow the telecoms to overcharge them. If things do not begin to change soon or consumers do not speak up do not be surprised to have to subscribe to the ‘Ultimate plan’ for the low price of $99.99.