oh boy.
The FCC will possibly be passing a law on May 15th that will cause ISP's to be classified as an information service rather then a telecommunication service
This is completely misleading. The FCC is holding an Open Commission Meeting on that date to discuss net neutrality along with a few other topics, it is not a planned date to pass any regulations.
More pertinently,
ISPs and broadband providers were classified as information services back in the early 2000's. I don't know where you got your summary from, but it's not the issue at hand. Here's an extremely brief summary of what's actually going on:
Chairman Tom Wheeler circulated the proposal among his fellow commissioners on Thursday. The actual text of the plan is not yet public, but the agency has said it would let Internet service providers give preferential treatment to some content providers on “commercially reasonable” terms. Watchdog groups say that could force consumers to pay more and squeeze out startups that can’t afford anything but the slow lane.
The FCC’s former rules on the issue were struck down by a federal appeals court in January. Now Wheeler is pushing to get the new regulations on the books by the end of this year. Wheeler has circulated the proposals among his fellow commissioners, who are set to address them at a regular agency meeting on May 15.
In a blog post on Thursday, Wheeler denied reports that his plans would abandon the FCC’s commitment to an open Internet. But numerous advocacy groups don’t buy it. Campaigns are already calling for consumers to protest the plans to the White House and lawmakers.
So what can you do?
White House petition to preserve net neutrality
Petition to reclsasify broadband providers as common carriers
Link to all of the FCC leaders and their e-mail addresses. You can also contact
openinternet@fcc.gov
Please reclassify Internet Service Providers as Title II:Telecommunications Companies. This will allow for Net Neutrality on a constitutional basis. It is also what the Supreme Court recommended you do. Without this reclassification you are allowing corporations the power to extort money from businesses and to stifle innovation and idea sharing. A small business owner who has a website deserves the same data throughput as Google on the same pipes. Thank you for listening to your citizenry as you were appointed to do.
If you want a more personal outlet for your concerns, here's Tom Wheeler's office's phone number: 1-202-418-1000
Get to it, guys.
