That ruling about them getting in trouble for slowing down certain Internet traffic, was overturned today. The DC Fed Court Of Appeals saw it fit to not just do that, but also proclaimed that the FCC had no authority to stop Comcast (or any provider) from charging customers based on usage, or limiting anything they like.
Basically, the service providers now have the ability to restrict any content they like (such as this blog posting). It gives them all the restrictive capability that China has.
The catch was a Supreme Court ruling that a bundle Internet/Cable service is called an "Information Service" and a company that offers these separately are deemed "Cable Internet" providers. They totally disregard the intent of the law and now force Congress to fix it. I will hold my breath...
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/technology/07net.html?hp
The problem NOW is, in many locations, there are very limited options on where to get your cable and Internet services from. So if a certain one decides to screw us, we have little or no recourse. If more than one does that, we could be totally screwed.
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