HELP! STOP THE "TOLL ROAD"

I was watching one of the morning chat shows on TV this morning. A segment about how cable companies and phone companies were devising ways to charge for the type of files one downloads from the net caught my interest.

A couple of examples might be ... If I choose to be online to "game", I would be charged additionally for the time I spend "in the game" or I pay for a movie from an online resource and the cable company charges me for the time this type of file takes to download via broadband.

Basically, these companies wanted to profit from the type of choices of content one wanted to transfer from the net to there own computer - thus creating a type of TOLL ROAD on the internet access based on the type of file one wanted in addition to any charges (if any) paid to the resource of the content - IN ADDITION to the monthly base service charge for the type of internet access service one already is paying (monthly access charges for broadband through the cable or phoneline).

On the segment, an interview with someone with an interest to stop this commercial "piling on" or usury directed viewers to a website set up to keep the web as free as it is today - Center For Digital Democracy.

The mission statement reads as follows:

The broadband revolution--much like the radio, television, cable, and online revolutions of the recent past--provides yet another opportunity to make our media system more democratic, more diverse, and more participatory. It is incumbent upon community activists and leaders, recognizing the power of broadband, to become more actively involved in the design and deployment of the new high-speed networks that will bring video, data, and telephone services to our homes and businesses.

In an effort to realize the full potential of broadband, the Center for Digital Democracy is launching a new project designed to stimulate citizen participation in the broadband revolution at the local level. CDD's DigitalDestiny Campaign will assist communities in coming to terms with the rapidly evolving telecommunications landscape, bringing new multimedia resources to the masses. Our task now is to ensure that broadband serves citizenship as well as salesmanship, culture as well as commerce. By working together at the local level, we have the opportunity to shape our digital destiny.

Join the Campaign!

The concept of "An Army Of Davids"

needs to be applied to this issue. I am all for free enterprise but to pay a monthly access fee, then pay for content files, AND THEN pay again to the monthly access provider for the type of file I randomly choose to download to my files from the web is a bit much.

Join the Campaign!

What Say You?
ht: The Weekend TODAY Show