A Scary Picture for the Future of the Wireless Web

The fight over Net Neutrality — that fundamental principle that keeps the Internet open and free from discrimination — can get pretty wonky.

It’s sometimes hard to find the right words when you’re trying to communicate to policymakers, geeks and the general public at the same time. How do crucial issues like “paid prioritization” harm the open Internet? What are the dangers of “specialized services”?

But a picture can be worth, well, you know. That’s why I always liked this clever illustration about what an Internet without Net Neutrality would look like:

To most of us, that looks like a nightmare. But to big companies like AT&T and Verizon, it’s a business plan.

Even as the Federal Communications Commission weighs new Net Neutrality rules, the dominant phone companies and their vendors are plotting a dystopian future for consumers that you won’t see in their soft-focus ads.

But you will see it soon enough.

Continues at: Craig Aaron: A Scary Picture for the Future of the Wireless Web – The New Word Order.