Can someone explain the Internet neutrality issue to me?

[sidwill]

What are the sides on this issue? I know the telecom companies are for the bill that just passed the house, but how about Google, Yahoo, etc...

Basically what I'm asking is this, are any of the big players on the consumer's side on this issue?

Signed,

Confused

[Eugene]

1. Google other big content providers are lobbying for net neutrality.

That includes Yahoo, EBay, and Microsoft.

Telcos and cable providers want these content providers to pay them
extra or get relegated to second-tier "best effort" levels of access
to their customers. The providers would give preferential treatment
to their own services and content. Naturally, the content providers
are against this.

[Asgaya Dihi]

2. I'll give it a shot

Eugene covered the basics, pretty much the backbone providers are telling outright lies to the public in an effort to get more money out of us. They claim that Google video and others of the sort are getting some sort of a free ride, and they aren't. Have you ever tried to download from a site and got the "over bandwidth quota" notice? I have. When you set up a site it's good for a limited amount of traffic, the more traffic you have the higher the bills.

Companies like Yahoo and Google already pay hundreds of thousands or millions for their internet services. Smaller ones pay smaller amounts but they all pay. The backbones want to add another charge on top of that to get good rather than poor service which means the smaller start-up companies and activist groups trying to distribute video or other high bandwidth material will have to pay even more or be forced into the slow lane so probably lose visitors.

What we need are common carrier laws that assure them of payment for their bandwidth but bar them from any preferential or punitive treatment of the info that travels on their lines. We're heading in the opposite direction.

[acmejack]

3. Here is one of the best explanantions I have seen.

The attached PDF at the site is quite good, too. http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom/

Our old friends at Wikipedia have a pretty good one too: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality