Dear editor:
The Senate voted last week 52-47 (all Democrats and only three Republicans) to restore the Title II protections that FCC Chair Anjit Pai reversed alleging that the "market" could sort it out.
The Title II protection was needed because of lawsuits by Comcast that wound up in our courts and a DC Circuit court judge suggested the FCC place the internet under Title II to make it a public utility like our phones. Title II prevents them from blocking, throttling speed or paid-prioritize of content.
Competition in the market worked for 20 years, but not now with increased monopoly with most ISP's also being content providers. Republicans are trying to sell us that the internet was fine for 20 years and Obama didn't need to change the rule and he didn't, the people petitioned to change it, not the president.
If they (Comcast and AT&T) are allowed to capture and control our internet as to speed or charging for level of access to content such as they now do with our TV service, it will harm millions of small businesses that rely on an open internet as well as researchers.
This bill will now go to the House for a vote and we need to flood our members of Congress' phone lines urging them to vote to protect our access to an open internet. Had these same members not changed the rule in place when they took control of government last year, we'd not be having this discussion now. This is nothing more than a ploy by three very greedy, very large corporations to control and dominate our internet, and they have to be stopped once and for all.
Judith Zitko
Hot Springs Village
Editorial on 05/23/2018