[Frank]

From: http://www.freepress.net/deadend/=neutrality

†œNetwork neutralityââ ¡Ãƒâ€šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ� is a voluntary but guiding principle of the Internet which ensures that all users are entitled to access content and services or run applications and devices of their choice.

Net neutrality fosters open competition and innovation among service providers, while preserving the independence and accessibility of the World Wide Web. The current abundance of online content is the offspring of net neutrality. Under network neutrality, consumers enjoy limitless choices.

As Internet historian Randall Stross explains: †œRather than having network operators select content providers on our behalf †â€ÂÂ� the philosophy of the local cable company †â€ÂÂ� the Internet allows all of us to act as our own network programmers, serving a demographic of just one person.ââ‚à ‚¬Ã‚ÂÂ�

The brilliance of this end-to-end network is that the intelligence resides at the edge of the network; the wires in between simply pass information between individual users. The networkââ‚à ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s only job is to move data †â€ÂÂ� not to stifle user innovation by selecting which services to privilege with higher speeds.

As a result of this openness, anyone can try out a new idea without having to cross a cable or telephone companyââ‚à ‚¬Ã¢â€žÂ¢s permission barrier. Tech guru David Isenberg explains it this way: †œA hobbyist collecting Pez dispensers could develop the idea to become Ebay. A couple of Stanford students could start Google and build a better search engine. Two guys in Europe could assemble a handful of programmers to invent Skype and threaten the trillion-dollar annual global tel-economy.ââ‚à ƒâ€šÃ‚¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ÂÂ�

Without safeguards against corporate meddling, the Internetââ‚à ƒâ€šÃ‚¬ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚¢s open road to innovation will become a closed highway for big media and their self-selected allies.

http://www.freepress.net/netfreedom/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality
http://www.democraticmedia.org/issue...eutrality.html

Does the following quote sound familiar?

Broadband is the battleground. As more Americans upgrade to high-speed Internet connections, the companies that control the "pipes" are plotting out new ways to profit from the demand. The telco and cable giants want to fence off the Internet: one area for the haves †� who will pay a premium to enjoy life in the fast lane †� and the other for the have-nots.

Let's start the campaign in the UK then, as network neutrality is disappearing in the UK and nobody appears to be doing anything about it.