Without the Internet, I would not have a website, a blog or a business. Without free access to search engines and information, I could not provide timely research or content to my clients.
I watched the Bill Moyers documentary The Net @ Risk and what I saw scared me witless. How bad does it have to get before we realize just how much freedom we are losing?
The issue is NET NEUTRALITY. Basically, the major phone and cable companies including AT&T, Comcast, and Time Warner continue to lobby our elected officials and the FCC; they are close to pushing through legislation that would allow these corporations to create a two-tiered system of Internet access.
Yes, it would cost each of us more money for less Internet access than we currently have. The mega media corporations don’t stop at the federal level. They have succeeded in 14 states in making it harder for local fiber optics companies to become established and operate. At the local level these relentless corporate entities are trying to trample American municipalities that have successfully built their own fiber optic networks.
The situation is so dire that MoveOn and the Christian Coalition have become allies in the fight for what’s left of free speech.
Ten years ago the phone and cable companies promised to deliver a superior fiber optic network in exchange for huge tax breaks. What we got is a poor fiber optic network, because our government didn’t hold these corporate entities accountable. Instead, our elected officials changed the laws so the mega media companies don’t even have to refund the money they continue to take from consumers for the service we still do not get. I guess those campaign contributions were really attractive - just grab the money and run. If there were ever a reason to get involved in grassroots efforts to change - this is a biggie.
Korea and Japan have access to 100 megabits of service and pay lower monthly fees than we do for 1 megabit of service. They can video conference; we get tiny jumpy images.
The idea of corporate giants including AT&T, Verizon and the cable companies as gatekeepers who decide what loads quickly and what loads slowly, if at all, when we surf the net is beyond scary, it’s almost a done deal. Once the election takes place, what’s to stop the lame duck Congress and Senate from shoving through legislation that favors corporate greed over the rights of Americans to free speech, fairness in the marketplace and access to local news?
I hope everyone who reads this blog takes a moment to watch The Net @ Risk online, while you still have the option. Moyers and his producers tell it better than I do.
I’m off to check out SaveTheInternet.com and compose an email to my elected officials. I intend to make sure my voice is heard online, by phone and in person, if that’s what it takes to reclaim the America we have lost since I graduated college. I am profoundly grateful to my fellow citizens who found out about this and spread the word.