Congress is currently rewriting the telecommunications act, and these measures
will affect you as consumers. Two current issues that will affect you are the net neutrality
issue and regulation and competition in the telecommunications market. These issues are
being debated now in the US Senate, and we suggest you pay attention to these debates because the
results of these debates WILL affect your services and the prices you pay for them. We
encourage you take action to promote competion in the telephone arena and keep the Internet an open platform controlled
by the user's choices instead of big corporations. Below we have included a bit of information
about the issues, as well as form letters you can personalize and send to your Congressional Representatives.
Net Neutrality - Up to now the Internet has always been open; when you use it you have equal access to all Internet
content. You decide where to go and what to look at. Now the big telecom companies like
AT&T, BellSouth, Verizon and Comcast want to change that to give themselves the
opportunity for bigger profits. If net neutrality is not protected, these corporations
will be able to control what content you get to view on the Internet. The Internet could
become like cable tv. The cable companies decide which channels you have access
to, now the big telecom companies want to decide which websites you have access to.
They’ll be able to allow some content to load faster than others based on whether the website
content providers have paid them a fee. And they'll have the ability to shut out
competitors or make it harder for you to access them. This slippery slope also leaves the
door open for future abuses. The bottom line is this: YOU pay
for your Internet service; YOU should be able to decide how you use it.
Read More About Network Neutrality Take Action Competition in the Telecommunications Industry - BellSouth regularly petitions the
Tennessee General Assembly for exemption from TRA oversight and consumer friendly regulation.
Tennessee laws and regulation in the telecommunications industry were put in place to protect
the consumer, to create an even playing field for telecommunications providers, and to
inhibit discriminatory pricing. Exempting BellSouth from regulation allows predatory
pricing, the which effectively helps eliminate much needed competition in the
telecommunications arena. Lower prices for YOU come from competition. Competitive telecom
companies in Tennessee mean more jobs for the state. Protect your right to choose a telecommunications
company and keep the old days of the Bell monopolies from returning.
Take Action
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