Net Neutrality Grade 3 by Scott Ahlsmith

Net Neutrality

A link to this post will be added to the Net Neutrality page.

You may recall this document from the comment section earlier this week. It’s too important to leave undercover. I bring out because of how and why it was built.

A few weeks ago, I met Scott Ahlsmith. Over lunch, we talked about his work with Congressman Pearce and the U.S. loss of international tourism. A week or so after, Scot asked if I might send him documents outlining the basics and basis of net neutrality. Now that he’s finished using what I sent, I’ve him to let you in on what he’s doing and why this document came to be.

Scott Ahlsmith Tells the Story of this Story

Washington, DC, Federal Government, and politics have always scared me. That changed last April when Congressman Pearce (R-NM) invited me to testify before his oversight sub-committee investigating declining National Parks’ visitation. It was a great experience and to conclude my testimony I said, “Congressman Pearce, you have restored my faith in Federal Government because you run this sub-committee like I run my small business. You identify opportunities and act on them without hesitation.”

Since then, I’ve worked with the Congressman, his staff, and his extensive network of talented and dedicated public servants. I was invited to testify again in September. The Travel Industry of America (TIA) was also involved and briefed me on their lobbying efforts to promote international travel and tourism to the United States. I asked the TIA lobbyists why they were not lobbying for Network Neutrality. Their blank stares spoke volumes.

They didn’t know about the legislation. When they read their traditional sources, they knew even less. They were confused by the jargon and technical language, but they knew that travel and tourism depended on the global free flow of data, regardless of whether it contained voice, video, graphics, or text. That was the beginning of the 3rd grade show & tell piece.

This piece has been distributed to Congressman Pearce’s office and the TIA lobbyists. We will also feature this piece at a press conference the Congressman has scheduled immediately following the November elections.

Net Neutrality Grade 3 by Scott Ahlsmith

“So, class, please put away your crayons. Art period is over, and here’s Scott with our first show-and-tell this afternoon. He’s going to explain why Network Neutrality is so important to your future and especially to your promotion to the 4th grade. Here’s Scott . . .

Thank you, Miss Francis.

Net Neutrality by Scott Ahlsmith. . .

The Internet is a worldwide collection of millions of computer hard disks that are connected to each other by wires and radio signals through millions of little boxes called routers.

The companies that own the wires, radio signals, and routers are called service providers or network administrators. They sell connections to the big network that includes the Internet. The big network, which includes the Internet, also includes telephone calls, cable TV, and things like NASA’s communications to our astronauts.

When you close your eyes and think about this big network of computers and routers connected to each other by wires and radio signals, you might see something that looks like a spider’s web. This is how the Internet also became known as the Web or the World Wide Web. This is also why many Web site addresses begin with the three letters, W W W.

To allow the Internet be able to exchange data all over the world, these hard disks and routers speak one language so they know where the data is coming from and where it is going. This language is called a protocol and it is specifically called an Internet Protocol or IP.

Freedom of speech, which is an important part of the Constitution of the United States, is also one of the founding principles of the Internet. This means you have the right to create and send any data you want from one computer’s hard disk to another’s using the wires and routers of the Internet. Data includes things like E-mail messages, pictures, games, movies, and songs.

Of course, you should be careful because some bad people use the Internet too. They also have the right to practice freedom of speech, but your mom and dad can set the router in your home to block data and protect you from these bad people and their data.

The network administrators who own the wires and routers in between the sending and receiving computers cannot control the type of data that is sent. They can only control the amount of data that is sent each second. This is called bandwidth and is part of the cost your parents and our school pay a service provider to be connected to the Internet. Usually, bigger bandwidth means faster data communications and a higher monthly cost. This is one of the ways service providers and network administrators make money.

The Internet’s current setup, which is based on freedom of speech, maintains that all data are neutral and have equal rights. Only bandwidth can be regulated by the service providers and network administrators. This is called Network Neutrality and is what makes the Internet and all of its content available to you through one connection, unless you live in China or another country that censors Internet data.

Some service providers and network administrators what to eliminate network neutrality by setting their routers to control or charge from certain types of data before it reaches the router in your home. They want to be data censors too.

They want to do this so their movies, articles, telephone conversations, or other data they own get to your Internet connection faster and cheaper than their competitor’s data. In some cases, they even want to block your access to data that they do not want you to see. Just like China.

This of course eliminates free speech and turns the service providers and network administrators into censors. It also reduces the number of Web sites you can search to help complete your homework.

So, tell your mom and dad that you want to be promoted to the 4th grade, but you will need Network Neutrality to help you do that. Also, tell them that they should tell their Senators and Congressperson why they should support and vote for Network Neutrality.

The End.

Thanks, Scott.

–ME “Liz” Strauss

Related
NET NEUTRALITY PAGE