[cappuccino]

I watched the program too, I liked it, I was pleased by the balanced reporting and they covered the major issues I was aware of, including the companies' failure to provide the services they had promised and now they're demanding that we pay after they took our 250 billion dollars in tax-writeoffs and reneged on their promises? I don't think so.

Rarebear, I'm not sure I fully understand what you're saying. Basically when we say internet in this discussion context, we actually are talking about the infrastructure...not the content. The infrastructure should be neutral with respect to the content traveling through it. So if the telecommunication companies get their way and build toll infrastructure and glibly try to pull the wool over the public's eyes by claiming they're making the network "intelligent" by providing fast and slow lanes for different types of data. What a good idea at first appearance till you look closely at what they're really doing. What they didn't mention is that they'd be able to exercise control over content and muscle competition out of the fray by having sole control over the pipelines and forcing data providers and people to pay double exorbitant fees, first to connect to the internet *and* to push data through the network.

Personally, I think the internet infrastructure should be taken out of the companies' control and made a municipal utility service, like water, electricity, and such.