Don't Let AT&T, BellSouth Hijack The Internet

AT&T and BellSouth are lobbying Congress hard to be allowed to hijack the Internet by charging sites like Google megafees if they want to be accessed at the same speed as AT&T and BellSouth's own sites. The Boston Globe reports that the companies are lobbying Congress so that they can "create a two-tiered Internet, where the telecom carriers' own Internet services would be transmitted faster and more efficiently than those of their competitors."

Here's the scam the companies want to run --- they'd create their own Web sites that deliver video at ultra high speeds, and only their sites would be allowed to deliver video or other services as that speed. Any other sites that want to deliver video at that speed would have to pay fees to AT&T and BellSouth.

This means that sites would have to pay extortion money to AT&T, BellSouth, and any other ISP that wants in on the action. It would add up to millions of dollars a year per site.

This isn't only bad for consumers, but it'll help kill innovation. Startups won't be able to afford to pay that kind of money, and so we'll see innovation wither. The Internet has been the greatest engine of innovation in the history of mankind. This new plan could put an end to that.

The AT&T and BellSouth moves should come as a surprise to no one. BellSouth has been publicly proclaiming its plans to do this for quite some time.AT&T and BellSouth are putting their muscle behind a bill written by two Republican congressmen, Joe Barton of Texas, and Fred Upton of Michigan, to let them charge the fees. Get on the phone or send email to your local congressmen and tell them you'd like to see that bill killed -- and if they don't listen, vote them out when next November rolls around.