Released: August 19, 2010

Don’t erect tollbooths on information superhighway

Source: USA Today

Last week, when Google and Verizon proposed a so-called network neutrality plan for the Internet, their idea was about as popular as a service outage. Consumer groups blasted it as an effort by powerful companies to become the Internet's gatekeepers, to the detriment of everyone but themselves. The lone member of the Federal Communications Commission to comment panned it as well. It's easy to see why the world isn't rushing to embrace the Google-Verizon plan. It would disrupt the long-standing principle that everyone — users and content providers alike — is treated equally on the Web. As things stand today, all broadband content moves to you at more or less the same speed. Providers (Verizon, AT&T, cable companies, etc.) steadily expand their networks to accommodate new content, lest they become slower and less appealing than their competitors. Consumers win on speed, content options and price.

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