US net neutrality rules finalized, in effect November 20

The FCC's new rules on net neutrality has gone into effect on November 20, 2011, almost a year after it was approved on Demcember 21, 2010 regarding the "open internet". The following is the FCC's summary on these new rules:

"First, transparency: fixed and mobile broadband providers must disclose the network 
management practices, performance characteristics, and commercial terms of their broadband 
services. Second, no blocking: fixed broadband providers may not block lawful content, 
applications, services, or non-harmful devices; mobile broadband providers may not block lawful 
websites, or block applications that compete with their voice or video telephony services. Third, no
unreasonable discrimination: fixed broadband providers may not unreasonably discriminate in 
transmitting lawful network traffic."




According to Nate Anderson's post on ars technica, "Mobile networks still have broad leeway to discriminate and throttle and even block certain apps, though some of the most obviously objectionable activities are forbidden."


hooha


source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/09/us-net-neutrality-rules-finalized-in-effect-november-20.ars

pro-net-neutrality propaganda? kk

Source: submitted by username "quink" from reddit.com

what is net neutrality?

Whenever you access the internet to watch videos, play online games, download...stuff, or browse the web, you don't have many expectations except for them to be available. Why shouldn't they be? Internet media has changed very much in the past few decades with approximately 30% of the global population now being internet users. Internet access should remain fair and unrestricted, however companies will discriminate among internet users based on the content of their internet experience.

Net neutrality is the idea that Internet Service Providers (ISP's) "may not discriminate between different kinds of content and applications online. It guarantees a level playing field for all Web sites and Internet technologies." Most of the major ISP's have tiered services that force consumers to pay extra fees for unrestricted access and internet speeds. These providers can block anti-competitive websites or slow down your internet or applications to the point of uselessness. 

The major anti-net neutrality parties are the biggest ISP's (internet service provider) that provide internet and other services. These companies are Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, and Time Warner Cable. The interests in these companies lay within favoring their own services and enacting larger fees for unrestricted access, leaving everyone else as a much smaller priority. Without net neutrality the internet would be much different, being allowed to do or watch things explicitly allowed by the big companies. 

Source: http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-101