This is a serious issue. From what I learned tonight (and I have heard similar topics before in a webdesign class), the US Government is in the process of passing a bill that would eliminate Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality means that all websites are equal. What is on the verge of happening is that internet service providers will be allowed to control what sites their users get to view, and how fast those sites appear. Basically if a corporation has enough money, they can buy from the provider a privilege of having the users access their sites faster. Anyone who cannot pay for this privilege will have to suffer with their website being on a slower connection. The analogy I would offer is this: let's say there's a priority lane similar to an HOV lane in a busy city such as Vancouver or San Francisco, and it cost $3 million to be able to use it. Most people are going to be stuck in the regular lanes. A select few rich people will zoom past everyone else in the special lane. Big companies' content will be in the special lane, and the content of everyone else's sites will be stuck in the slow lane. That's if it's not blocked entirely.

This is a capitalist movement with an alterior motive to end freedom of speech on the internet.
I've had enough with politicians thinking they're representing the people, and corporations pretending they're all about serving the customer.

DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN.
If you are in the United States, PLEASE contact your senator and urge them not to pass this bill. Its effects will be global.

See video at coanews.org

According to this video, the anti-Net Neutrality bill has gone through. Senators have a chance to veto it.

Visit coanews.org, and Save the Internet where you can sign a petition and fight for our rights.

Bloggers, add your blog to the SavetheInternet bloggers list

There are some interesting claims about Telus and Shaw I didn't know about, here.

This is from an interesting article at Freepress.net:
"In Canada, cable TV company Shaw Communications Inc., which is rolling out phone service, is charging its customers $10 a month extra if they want to "improve the quality and reliability of Internet telephony services" they get from other phone service companies. Internet calling company Vonage Holdings Corp. has protested to Canadian regulators."
As far as I'm aware, the only $10/month extra is an optional thing for hi-speed "extreme" which may not even be that much faster, if at all. So I'm not sure of the legitimacy of that claim, or the rest of the article, but it's a good read.