Will my Internet get faster?

UPDATE at 10:45 a.m.: Regulators OK ‘net neutrality’ rules for Internet providers Internet service providers like Comcast, Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile now must act in the “public interest” when providing a mobile connection to your home or phone, under rules approved Thursday by a divided Federal Communications Commission. (Read more)

Original commentary:

Computer people are totally preoccupied with the FCC’s net neutrality decision. But what normal people want to know is, will my Internet get faster, and will it cost me more? So I asked Maggie Reardon from CNET.

“Your Internet will not be any faster,” she laughed. “You probably will pay more eventually, but that’s not a function of net neutrality, necessarily.”

Then why is this such a big deal?

The Internet is privately owned by a few big companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast – and software companies are afraid of being bullied, which Reardon said can happen.

“You have AT&T, for example, say that people couldn’t use the FaceTime the application because it would overwhelm the network,” said Reardon. “Well then, the public said ‘no.’ So AT&T conceded, and guess what – the network didn’t fall apart.”

But I think the real reason the government’s getting involved is that the Internet is more than just another utility.

Once upon a time, when the power went out, the lights went dark, and the food spoiled, but you could still go shopping, make a phone call, mail a letter, do your banking, read the newspaper, and listen to your transistor radio.

But today when there’s a blackout – phone’s dead, stores can’t take your charge card, you can’t access your bank account, your mail, your family photos – and if you can’t find the old transistor radio – you can’t get the news either. You can’t even Tweet how miserable you are.

The Internet is not just another utility, it’s a Superpower. It’s the blood supply of the developed world.

That’s why I think people want a government referee:
Because whoever controls the Internet has every one of us by the _____s.