And K. P., when we incorporate other people’s ideas into our inventions we have pay license fees for doing so; the patent system ensures that creative work of genuine value is fairly compensated.

Stealing is wrong.

How in the nine circles of hell is net neutrality–or, hell, free markets in general–FASCIST!? I can see you perhaps making a legitimate and respectable argument if you weren’t so bloody sensationalist. Such improper knowingly incorrect usage of random -isms is far more fascist (i.e. propaganda) than net neutrality will ever be.

You seem to be ignorant of the fact that using products for which others have had to pay fixed input costs in the past is standard practice in our society. Consider, for example, the invention and evolution of the laptop computer. Before reaching its current state, the modern PC had to be evolved from older computers, which in turn had to be evolved from the old ENIAC (I don’t mean that literally, so don’t try pulling a straw-man based on the wording there). Now, we have laptops that use circuit boards and microchips that somebody else had once spent time and money inventing.

This is true in most technological markets. Why? Simple–that’s what technology IS. Technology is the result of the continual building/tinkering of innovative entrepreneurs on machines and existing technical capabilities. It’s happened in the past and will continue to happen.

If companies wish to have another data pipe added, sure, charge them. That’s the current system, is it not? But don’t turn the Internet into a perpetual auction. Doing so would be a violation of the American spirit of business, which (you should hopefully remember) originated as a realization of the ideals of low or no barriers to entry, everyone getting a fair shake, et cetera.

Also, if people are really “stealing” the use of data pipes and you find that unethical while you are able to type on a computer whose manufacturer utilized similar practices in its production, there is some hypocrisy in your argument.

Finally, consider the importance of innovation in our world. The Internet has been demonstrated to be a great wellspring of innovation and is arguably the main reason for the economic boom of the mid-90’s. Unless you wish to let this amendment pass, which turns the Internet into a monopolistic market and is economically inefficient and may stifle the national economy into a near-permanent recession, just a little bit of thought would lead you to realize that your current line of thinking is horribly illogical at very best. (At very worst, it’s intentionally collusional to possibly the worst tyranny our country can really experience–that of undermining the fair-shake nature of the Internet.

Voice packets that want less delay than normal packets, so they put a load on network resources that affects every other user on the Net, Paul. The Internet is a packet-switched network where links are shared, not a circuit-switched one like the actual telephone network. And that’s why their handling is a big deal for the network’s architecture.

Allowing Skype to use high-priority service is like letting people with carts full of groceries into the “10 items or less” line.

I say the Internet is the same as the highways. They should be freely available to all citizens and companies. Nationalize it!

Another thing you’re missing is the impact this will have on small businesses. I work for a small web development firm. If this passes, hosting rates will go through the roof as they’re forced not only to pay for bandwidth, but also QoS. (Because if you can’t guarantee that your site isn’t visible by everyone, why bother with that hosting company?) An end to a flat Internet could cost me my job. It could cost the jobs of my coworkers.

So tell me why I should be in favor of the Baby Huey Bells forcing a company to pay for QoS?

If the telcos want to roll out a brand new network, I am willing, as a citizen, to foot the bill. So long as the same standards of neutrality exist. Of course, the last time they were paid to deploy high-speed Internet, they failed miserably and still made off like bandits. Not to mention the fact that they’ve been given concessions by states like Pennsylvania that prevent communities from serving themselves without permission from the ISPs.