I’ll admit that I tend to pay more attention to this sort of thing than the average Joe, but I’m surprised when I run into those that are not aware of the coming play for control of the ‘net by the telco companies.

Witness the attempts by Verizon and BellSouth to create a two tiered internet – if they get extra money or it is their service then it gets priority treatment. This means, essentially, that the level playing field for the “better idea” will be dead; if you have more money, you can make your crap much faster even if it isn’t as good. And one wonders about the inverse – can I pay to have other services slow down?

SBC is also making the claim that Google (and others) are “parasites” on their broadband lines and that Google should pay for the bandwidth they are using. Mind you, I was always under the impression that my DSL fees paid for the bandwidth that I am using, but apparently I was wrong. Lucky for us Google refuses to pay for this extortion – and I suspect that Jeff Pulver is right in saying that BellSouth might come to regret this as Google is the one that actually has content people want.

You’re a dumb pipe, BellSouth. Be a dumb pipe.

For more background on this you can read the article by Doc Searls entitled Saving the Net. It details in a nice fashion the battle that is about to begin. While you’re at it you might want to consider joining the IOIC. I say “consider” as I have not fully investigated this group, so caveat emptor. However, on the surface they look good and they have some good people involved so I am encouraged.