On Mon, 2006-12-18 at 15:46 -0700, ericĀ© wrote: > Just running things over in my head....I'm not pushing for or against > it right now, just trying to better understand it. > > How is non-neutrality any different than the tiered system we have > now? The more money you pay, the faster UL/DL speeds you get. Sounds > the same to me as "the more money the business pays, the faster access > they get". Also sounds similar to "the more money you pay, the better > location in the mall you get". > > Again, I'm not saying the corporations right, I'm not saying they're > wrong. Just trying to better understand things. ---- There are many layers to the Internet and one of them is the pipe and you do pay for access to the pipe and indeed, your fees tend to be scaled towards the amount of pipe that you need. The concept of net neutrality is not about how much you pay or amount of pipe but rather what is permitted to flow on the pipe, and whose content is prioritized and whose content is relegated to lower priority - sort of a caste system based upon contents providers ability to generate revenues (pay the toll so to speak) in order to achieve first class delivery. Imagine if you will, a startup company such as Google, incapable of paying for first class distribution on a network that didn't provide net neutrality...who would use a google if it was slow? How could start up businesses ever get off the ground? The Internet offered a level playing field so that new businesses could launch and develop clientele if they scratched an itch and in a world that failed to ensure net neutrality, if the cost of entry is too great, the effect would be chilling to innovation. I will repeat, the speech given by Lawrence Lessig as originally proffered to the list by Alan and linked earlier in this thread brilliantly breaks this all down into understandable terms. Craig --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change you mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss