I don't think I need to summarize the hubbub about Net Neutrality (NN) and the panic now ensuing regarding Google and Verizon.
But I wanted to write this diary to follow up and clarify an un-panicked comment I made last week in a related thread.
In short: don't sweat it. A great change is coming that will sweep you off your feet.
There is one Internet now. There are millions of Intranets. Intranets are private networks. They are private (of course) and normally consist of closely related or located machines. Most people have worked on Intranets for years. In fact they are so ubiquitous that lots of people use them without even knowing it. Generally speaking, if you log onto your work computer then you are logging onto an Intranet.
Intranets, up until now, required a network administration team to setup. Now your 8yo daughter can do it. And she can do it with her cellphone.
The future is this:
We will no longer join just web sites. We will join networks. The networks will be linked by cellphones (using wi-fi) thereby eliminating the need for corporations to provide us with cellphone towers or networks.
Fully comprehend this and what it means. Individual cellphones become the towers (using wi-fi). Networks (previously like I described as Intranets) can be created by anyone and will propagate out from cellphone to cellphone to anyone wishing to support that network. This is all done through wi-fi. Motorola's new cellphone, running Google's operating system (Android), provides a wireless wi-fi router build on. This provides a wi-fi "hotspot" to which other phones can connect. Perhaps you've seen the TV commercials of teens making little networks of friends.
For web sites, this means that in the future there will be a Progressive Network hosting sites like Kos and HuffPost. It'll be 100% free and its speed of access will depend on how many wi-fi points are nearby that support it. This type of network already exists in the form of torrents. This is why Google and Verizon are keeping the NN exception for wireless. Because it won't really matter. Joining a network will be like paying to read the good stuff on a web site. It is a horizontal shift.
I envision that on the Internet as we know it now, websites (like this one) will advertise their private networks. They'll mostly be free, but if you like, you can pay for access (just like some Torrent sites that give faster speed if you pay). Paying for access may mean no ads, faster access, or extra content. Sound familiar?
Another way of looking at it: since DailyKos can relay from phone to phone, then Kos and the size of the Kos hive of followers control the speed, not Google and Verizon.
This is the future. I'm not worried.
Regarding Evil. Google (and Motorola) is putting the infrastructure of the internet into the hands (literally) of individuals while taking it away from corporations. Maybe not so evil.