And if this Justice Department decision stands, we could see higher charges for speedy delivery of email, as well as different speeds for delivery of other web content.

The Justice Department on Thursday said Internet service providers should be allowed to charge a fee for priority Web traffic.

The agency told the Federal Communications Commission, which is reviewing high-speed Internet practices, that it is opposed to "Net neutrality," the principle that all Internet sites should be equally accessible to any Web user.

Several phone and cable companies, such as AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp., have previously said they want the option to charge some users more money for loading certain content or Web sites faster than others.

The Justice Department said imposing a Net neutrality regulation could hamper development of the Internet and prevent service providers from upgrading or expanding their networks. It could also shift the "entire burden of implementing costly network expansions and improvements onto consumers," the agency said in its filing.

Of course, the question becomes whether the internet is more like the telephone company or the post office. The Justice Department argues the latter, with its differential rates for speed of delivery, while I'd argue for the former, which is required to connect all calls in an equal fashion.

Will Congress intervene to overturn this decision?

Posted by: Greg at 09:36 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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