Information is Power -- Don't Just Sit There
Thursday, July 5, 2007

Fucking DO something!

Net Neutrality. Universal Internet Access.

You may think these words don't concern you -- but I Urge you ---Do something!

On July 13th, the FCC will close comments from the public on the issue of net neutrality. Please take a moment to visit www.savetheinternet.com and submit your comments to the FCC about why you want to see net neutrality preserved. Your voice is important.

I believe that Net Neutrality may be the single most important issue on the our cultural plate at the moment. Yes, there are wars, and famine, and lots of -isms that need confronting -- I encourage you to take action on those things as well -- but if you are reading this, or other political/social/cultural blogs, news, and online content that helps you to understand and keep informed about those issues, you are doing so through the internet.

If you don't understand all the fuss about net neutrality and universal internet access, get educated.

Maybe you might want to start with something like this:

Broadband Reality Check (from savetheinternet.com)

So what’s the real skinny?

  • There is no competitive marketplace for Internet access in the United States. More than 95 percent of residential high-speed lines are owned by telephone and cable companies. That is a rigid duopoly by any standard. (Source: FCC)
  • The result of duopoly control is higher prices for slower connections to the Internet. Compared to citizens in other developed nations, Americans now pay 10 to 20 times as much for far slower Internet services than those offered by modern European and Asian countries. (Source: Broadband Reality Check II)
  • A full 37 percent of ZIP codes have one or fewer choices of a wired broadband provider. (Source: FCC)
If you need to get your dander up, go to Speedmatters.org, test your internet access speed, and compare it to speeds in other countries. Then send a letter to your congress-people, and ask them why you don't have the high-speed connection that you paid for as a taxpayer, demand that they hold the communications company to their promises, and tell them to support net neutrality through legislation.

Do something. Do it right now. Don't just bitch about it, and then complain later that your bitter predictions have come true. Believe me, I think a 45MBps connection, and true access to everything on the internet is going to give you much greater satisfaction that all the moaning and righteous wrath you could ever muster.

The sites I've listed above have great suggestions on what to do, and make it very easy for you to do it.

Please do it. I have. It's not too late for you to comment, object, make your voice heard.

It will take you, like, fifteen minutes, max -- Do something.

Posted byPortlyDyke at 8:37 PM  

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2 comments:

splord said... July 5, 2007 at 8:53 PM  

Hey PD, your first link no work! (the one under the vid does)

I'm going there now!

PortlyDyke said... July 6, 2007 at 1:12 PM  

Thanks fer watching my back Phyd -- it's fixed. Don't worry, I'm going to follow-up on your "tag" -- it's been a hairy week!

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