Net Neutrality is one of the more hotly debated topics around federal policy (probably behind health care, taxes, and cap and trade) in the last 5 years. The basic idea of net neutrality (also, rarely, called Internet neutrality or network neutrality) is that the Internet should remain a free, unbiased medium that acts to convey messages and content from one party to another, and that it should not discriminate based on the type or source of the content (much like your plumbing does not discriminate based on the source of the water).
Proponents of net neutrality argue that Internet was born and grew up in an open culture where participants cooperated freely to ultimate benefit of all. They are argue that a tiered Internet or a discriminatory pricing regime would hamper growth and lead to profits for a few at the cost of many.
Opponents of net neutrality (most often Internet Service Providers - ISPs) argue that the only way to ensure future growth is to allow the owners of the network infrastructure (the "pipes") to properly manage their networks. This includes traffic shaping, tiered pricing, and quality of service agreements.
Overall, this is a complicated topic and one that I suspect will be debated for years to come. Over the next few posts I will explore the topic in more depth and hopefully allow my readers to come to their own conclusions.
Good Talk,
Tom
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