re: Net Neutrality -- What You Need To Know

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I have a theory that will probably be horribly incorrect. If just one ISP will follow the old ways, everyone will flock to that one ISP and the other ISP's will have to follow to get business.

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If all ISPs were available in all markets, this would work. Unfortunately, there is a severe lack of competition across the majority of the country.

On top of this, ISPs have been lobbying very hard to get states to ban municipal broadband networks, and it's working. There are many advantages to a city building its own fiber network: smart electricity grids that are more robust and have fewer and shorter outages, smart traffic lights, and of course they can actually generate revenue by offering broadband internet. There is pretty much no downside to a city going this route (provided it is economically viable), but the ISPs are fighting it tooth and nail. They are clinging to an outdated business model, trying to apply the TV model to the internet, and they could very well succeed considering the lack of competition and the amount of lobby dollars going toward keeping it that way.