This is a topic that has really sparked some fierce debates as of late. I have spoken with a number of people about Net Neutrality, many of which are real sharp developers and gurus in their fields. The most common response I get is: "What?". Oddly enough, there are still so many folks that have never heard the term. The scary part is how deeply it will affect all of us and may happen under the noses of the people it will harm the most. They may never even know it until it is in full force. Part of the reason is the term itself. Whoever coined the term "Net Neutrality" picked a term that really means nothing when you hear it. They should really smack that guy. I can't think of anybody who hears the term and has any inkling of what it actually means. Once it is explained, it makes more sense, but still takes a bit of time to fully appreciate the impact.
In short, there are battle lines being drawn between two sides, one of which would like to allow big corporations to be able to limit bandwidth based on their discretion. This will change the whole face of how we use the internet. Small websites will become slow and eventually users will stop visiting them because it will become too painful. The bigger websites would come up as fast as they do today. On the other side, we have folks who would like things to remain the same. The internet has gotten to it's current state by being an equal and open playing field. Everything is neutral, hence the term Net Neutrality. I can create a website the same way as a big corporation. It does not come up slower just because an ISP has an interest in their corporations' websites. If I want to allow people to download music from my website, the bandwidth is not decreased because the ISP has partnered with their own music download company or some behemoth of a record company is paying a premium. Well, it doesn't today, but these scenarios may become a reality if the big corporations get their way.
Do we really want the big corporations to be the gatekeepers of the internet? It is definitely an uphill battle because the current political landscape is very corporation friendly. Corporations have really deep pockets and usually get their way, so it is important that we pull together and try do what we can to ensure that net neutrality is enforced. I am not an expert on Net Neutrality, but let me at least take this opportunity to try to get the word out. I would love to hear the thoughts of others on this very important topic.