The 'Web toll': a primer on Net Neutrality

For those of you still not quite sure what Net Neutrality means, here's an article from Popular Science I've found that puts it in the simplest terms yet: a Web toll. If telecom companies have their way, the Internet will go from being an Interstate freeway to a private tollway, where telecom companies decide the rules. I've touched on some of these topics before, but here are two points from the article that especially stand out:

• Without Net Neutrality, all of us will pay more. The folks at handsoff.org would like you to think that it's "big corporations" like Yahoo! and Google that would be paying the price, but these prices will get passed on to us either in the form of charges for faster content, or higher prices across the board if Web advertising starts costing more.

• Without Net Neutrality, Net startups like Google and Yahoo will be a thing of the past. Corporations with deep pockets will be better able to afford telecom's fees for faster-loading content, leaving average bloggers and small businesses to take the Internet's slow lane.

Read the full article here.