What would net neutrality look like in rural America? - Entrepreneur Generations

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on--and likely pass, along party lines--a proposal to roll back net neutrality rules on Dec. 10. Those rules force internet service providers to allow access to all web content at the same speed.

Public interest groups say rolling back these regulations could cause problems for rural communities, KELO 107.9 FM in Pierre, South Dakota, reports. Without net neutrality, ISPs could force web hosts to pay tolls for faster access, and throttle access speed or even block access for those who don't pay up.

Jessica Gonzales, deputy director and senior counsel for the group Free Press, told KELO that most rural communities only have one internet service provider, who would be able to do as it pleased if net neutrality were repealed. "We can't vote with our feet when it comes to how we're getting our access to the Internet and that really is the main reason why we need to regulate Internet access providers – to ensure that they're not blocking, throttling or prioritizing certain traffic on the Internet," Gonzales said.




from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2nwKZuI What would net neutrality look like in rural America? - Entrepreneur Generations

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