On a radio news program today, I heard someone describe "net neutrality" simply, as preventing ISPs from charging some *WEBSITES* more than others, and potentially completely blocking the websites of competitors. (This is NOT the same as the data speed any individual decides to buy from their provider when going online.)
Sorry for belaboring this point, but time is running out and we, as small businesses, could be directly affected in a variety of ways. Any of us with an effective website for their notary business may have reason to be concerned about the elimination of net neutrality. Without it, an organization (e.g. the webcam folks), could pay a premium to companies like Verizon, AT&T, etc. to make sure their website has much faster access to it than other small operations - like us. That means that when potential clients try to access our websites online, they would load so slowly (unless we pay various ISPs to make sure ours load quickly) that people would likely move on to another site. ISPs would even be free to block some websites to hinder competition. In theory, at least, the elimination of net neutrality could affect any small business website - even this forum. What if SD or XYZ decided to pay for faster access to their sites (the so-called 'fast lane') or to have the ISPs slow access to sites like this one, or other places where we might advertise?
The FCC votes on this issue next Thursday, 12/14, so if you have concerns, as I do, it's not too late to make your feelings known. This site offers a bit more detail, in a surprisingly clear way:
http://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/open-internet
Here's the Contact Us page for the FCC, below. Browser searches will still bring up a variety of other sites which assist with contacting the FCC. (Those sites are still equally accessible - at least for another week - but most aren't appropriate for this page.)
https://www.fcc.gov/about/contact
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