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Telecom Giants Trying To Block Free Internet
By: Jamie Holly @ 4:46 PM - PDT

As if that would be a shock to anyone, but it is worth mentioning. On CNN’s In the Money, John Muleta, who is the founder and CEO of M2Z media was talking about the telecom giants trying to block his companies plans of providing free, high-speed, wireless internet to the entire nation.

Muleta has been pushing for this for quite sometime now. He testified before Congress in May, and now his big hurdle is with the FCC. He is also collecting online signatures for his petition to Congress and the FCC, which you can sign here.

The benefits of this plan are great. I know the capitalistic mind always cringes at the word “free”, but think of the boost such a service could offer to online retailers.

Another problem also made news this week. The Washington Post published an article talking about Comcast canceling subscribers account for “excessive usage”:

Comcast has punished some transgressors by cutting off their Internet service, arguing that excessive downloaders hog Internet capacity and slow down the network for other customers. The company declines to reveal its download limits.

“You have no way of knowing how much is too much,” said Sandra Spalletta of Rockville, whose Internet service was suspended in March after Comcast sent her a letter warning that she and her teenage son were using too much bandwidth. They cut back on downloads but were still disconnected. She said the company would not tell her how to monitor their bandwidth use in order to comply with the limits.

“You want to think you can rely on your home Internet service and not wake up one morning to find it turned off,” said Spalletta, who filed a complaint with the Montgomery County Office of Cable and Communication Services. “I thought it was unlimited service.”

In today’s world of streaming media, news like this is very bad. We need better control of our internet, and control that doesn’t hurt the consumer. The United States is quickly falling behind in offering quality, high-speed internet to all the nation. Actions like this just put us even further behind.