Caught in the Net: Internet Service Providers

An amendment to a telecom reform bill being considered in the U.S. Congress would allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to offer tiered pricing, in which customers could pay a premium to avoid Internet congestion by receiving transmission priority. Those who pay more would see their pages load faster. ISPs argue the bill will make the ...

An amendment to a telecom reform bill being considered in the U.S. Congress would allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to offer tiered pricing, in which customers could pay a premium to avoid Internet congestion by receiving transmission priority. Those who pay more would see their pages load faster. ISPs argue the bill will make the market for Web content more competitive. But opponents say it will allow for sweetheart deals that will block poorer sites. The bill would "take the decision making away from the masses and hand it to a few telecom executives," says Craig Aaron, a spokesman for SavetheInternet.com, an advocacy group supported by Google, Yahoo, and others.

An amendment to a telecom reform bill being considered in the U.S. Congress would allow Internet service providers (ISPs) to offer tiered pricing, in which customers could pay a premium to avoid Internet congestion by receiving transmission priority. Those who pay more would see their pages load faster. ISPs argue the bill will make the market for Web content more competitive. But opponents say it will allow for sweetheart deals that will block poorer sites. The bill would "take the decision making away from the masses and hand it to a few telecom executives," says Craig Aaron, a spokesman for SavetheInternet.com, an advocacy group supported by Google, Yahoo, and others.

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