Spectrum

On December 14, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is scheduled to vote to rescind a 2015 regulation that would end “net neutrality”. Opponents of this action say it will consolidate too much power over the Internet into the hands of a few large broadband providers such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon and cable companies. If passed, the high speed Internet providers would be allowed to block certain websites (at their discretion) and “throttle” (slow delivery) content for others. The large broadband companies then could charge a premium to content providers to ensure faster service and delivery of content to customers. Those additional charges would be passed along to consumers, according to Dr. Trevor Roycroft, an economist, and expert on consumer issues in telecommunication. Dr. Roycroft is a professor in the J. Warren McClure School of Information and Telecommunication Systems at Ohio University. Also, not every Internet user would have equal access to legal and legitimate websites. Some may b