On the Subject of Net Neutrality

I came upon a fun article at Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/5605310/google-just-killed-net-neutrality

The basic gist is that providers like Verizon want to charge us for what we have access to on the internet. They want to limit access or offer faster access to specific content based on how much you are willing to pay.

This is kind of a scary thought. You know the driving force of the printing press was to get information (the bible) out to the people. To provide wide spread knowledge to those who could not afford it. Books became readily available and cheaper improving the quality of life of many people. Information sharing was also the driving force behind the creation of the internet. Researchers wanted to share their studies and libraries of info. All of that evolved into the information age we enjoy today.

We already pay for access to that resource! We all have internet “providers” and their prices are always going up as they offer us less. We pay for internet, cable and phone through Comcast. They offer a “triple play” which locks you into those specific services. You can’t have one without the other two or else you pay… a lot. At about $125 a month we just tried to lower our cost by dropping the cable and phone line. Standard DSL Internet alone would cost us $82.99 plus surcharges and fees. It is the same with most other internet providers.

Wireless Internet gouging
Since the article already mentions Google and Verizon’s team up and because the new trend is to promote constant, mobile, internet access (the only access Verizon provides), let me reference my personal experience with wireless internet. In 2007 I purchased a wireless adapter for my laptop. It cost me $120 and I paid $60 a month for unlimited access to the internet knowing that I would only get access in wireless hot spots or where my phone would get a signal. Today $60 a month will get you 5 GB of access. There is no advertised unlimited plan. According to Verizon 10 minutes of Youtube (streaming video) is 1.2 GB and 1 hour of online gaming is 5.4 GB. If you listen to music using Pandora you use 2.25 GB per hour. So where does that put someone who is on the 5GB plan? Lets see:
1.2 GB streaming video
5.4 GB gaming
2.25 GB Music
8.85 GB total
At $0.05/MB for overages that is a total bill of $257.12. $197.12 in overages!

Case in Point
We are going backwards instead of forward. Lost in greed, short sighted decisions are made restricting our access to the resources the internet provides. We are already paying a lot for our internets! But they will always try to squeeze more out of us.

Would it be crazy to foresee a future where digital information is so restricted that we actually revert, creating a rift in society where only those with the resources are allowed access to news, information and higher learning, exercise dominion over a less sophisticated blue collar-type workforce? Could we already be there?