An Introduction to the Importance of Net Neutrality

Episode 1: Understanding the Internet

Friday night, as i sat in front of my computer uploading the latest episode of Heroes onto my computer, I began to realize something interesting. that I have no idea how the internet has come to exist on my computer. Like millions of individuals around the world, I have taken the idea of the internet for granted. In fact, like most, I can't imagine a world without the internet. So how does it work?

Looking for an answer, I turned ironically to the internet. What I learned was that a lot of what the Internet is, is right there in its name; A group of interconnected networks. Since the Internet began in 1969 hundreds of millions of networks have been created by host computers that link together using different routers. Every one of our computers is connected to one of these networks, and its this connection that gives us the ability to watch people around the world injure themselves from the comforts of our home on YouTube.

These networks are owned by companies, in fact I was surprised to learn that most of the internet is ran by only a few companies. Who, lucky for us, agree to use a common set of NAPs. NAPs are the routers that let someone using Network A access and view information from a computer using a different Network company. Because of this agreement everyone around the world can see and use the same material the internet has to offer at roughly the same convenience and speed. At its heart, the Internet is nothing more than a gigantic agreement between companies to intercommunicate freely around the world.

The Internet works the way it does because Network companies agree to a standard known as Net Neutrality. A standard that recently has found itself under attack.

The aggressor is a very curious piece of legislation titled the "Internet Freedom Act of 2009". This legislation is the topic for our next installment.