Regional Bell Operating Company (RBOC)

Sign up for Internet service with your local regional phone company. Our massive internet servers, hostname molassas and ketchup, will deliver internet to you in the fashion you have become accustomed to getting from us. After all, we are the phone company. Where else are you going to go?

Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is a set of rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which say Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Comcast, Time Warner, AT&T, and Verizon, cannot block, throttle, or prioritize certain content on the Internet.

Net neutrality challenges by Verizon, MetroPCS dismissed on technicality  BetaNews Net neutrality was back, until it wasn’t  The Verge Network Neutrality | ALA  American Library Association Trump admin demands states exempt ISPs from net neutrality and price laws  Ars Technica Carr Eliminates Already Defunct Net Neutrality Regulations  Broadband Breakfast Kessler bill to establish net neutrality standards in Maine is now law  maine.gov The conversation surrounding Net Neutrality should include Device Neutrality  BetaNews In Rush Order — and Without Public Comment — Trump FCC Removes Net Neutrality Rules  freepress.net EFF and 80 Organizations Call on EU Policymakers to Preserve Net Neutrality in the Digital Networks Act  Electronic Frontier Foundation Maine Net Neutrality Law Not Expected to Impact Services  GovTech Maine net neutrality bill becomes law without Mills' signature  newscentermaine.com Object permanence. Telco rats out protesters; Rogers v Net…  Cory Doctorow – Medium Public Interest Groups Quiet on Net Neutrality Ahead of Aug. 8 Supreme Court Deadline  Broadband Breakfast The fight for net neutrality is forever  The Verge Public Interest Groups Won’t Take Net Neutrality Case to Supreme Court Now  Broadband Breakfast Google: Net Neutrality proposal 'represents real progress' in debate  BetaNews Net Neutrality Bill in Maine Becomes Law Without Governor’s Signature  Broadband Breakfast FCC abandons 'third way' in net neutrality order up for vote this month  BetaNews Senators Cantwell and Franken introduce bill to revise net neutrality rules  BetaNews Maine Legislature Passes Bill Expanding Net Neutrality  Broadband Breakfast Net neutrality advocates won’t appeal loss, say they don’t trust Supreme Court  Ars Technica SCOTUS Grants Extension For Net Neutrality Petitioners  Broadband Breakfast Zuckerberg says Internet.org is not anti-net neutrality... but it is  BetaNews FCC axes Net Neutrality rules, which weren't in effect anyway  ConsumerAffairs Pennsylvania Introduces Bill to Restore Net Neutrality Protections  Broadband Breakfast Trump FCC Chair Accused of 'Political Theater' to Please Net Neutrality's Foes  Common Dreams Net neutrality is dead — welcome to the age of ‘pay-to-play’ and premium access  The Hill Sixth Circuit Denies Rehearing in Net Neutrality Challenge  Broadband Breakfast US Court Strikes Down FCC Net Neutrality Rules in 2025  WebProNews Groups ask US court to reconsider ruling blocking net neutrality rules  Reuters What the End of U.S. Net Neutrality Means  Scientific American Verizon’s consumer chief: Net neutrality ‘went literally nowhere’  The Verge Don’t be fooled: Net neutrality is about more than just blocking and throttling  Brookings AI makes the fight for net neutrality even more important  Brookings 8 Things That Could Happen Without Net Neutrality  SlashGear The Uncertain Future of Net Neutrality and Internet Regulation  Pryor Cashman LLP Net neutrality is back: U.S. promises fast, safe and reliable internet for all  NPR Chairwoman Rosenworcel Archive: Net Neutrality  Federal Communications Commission (.gov) The FCC’s Groundhog Day: The mistake of bringing back net neutrality  Americans for Prosperity A court squashes net neutrality; what next for the FCC?  Federal News Network Net neutrality is struck, ending a long battle to regulate ISPs like public utilities  NPR ISPs Drop Legal Fight Against California Net Neutrality Law  law.stanford.edu F.C.C. Votes to Restore Net Neutrality Rules (Published 2024)  The New York Times Net Neutrality Is At Risk Again, And The Free Market Won’t Save Us  Forbes FCC Votes To Restore Net Neutrality: A Win For Consumers And Democracy  Forbes US court blocks Biden administration net neutrality rules  Reuters The Myth of Net Neutrality and the Reality of Network Management  American Enterprise Institute - AEI Everyone is celebrating the net neutrality victory, but what the heck is it?  pnj.com F.C.C. Repeals Net Neutrality Rules (Published 2017)  The New York Times Reinstating ‘Net Neutrality’ Is to Ignore Reality  Cato Institute What Is Net Neutrality? Myths and Realities  freepress.net FCC Reinstates Net Neutrality Rules  Wiley Rein Net Neutrality Is and Has Always Been a Bipartisan Issue  New America How Big Tech Uses Net Neutrality To Subvert Competition  promarket.org Net neutrality rules reinstatement temporarily halted by US appeals court  Reuters Court strikes down US net neutrality rules  BBC What is net neutrality? As FCC chair weighs return, what to know about the internet rule  USA Today 'Net neutrality' is ending. Here's how your internet use could change  PBS FCC Moves to Revive Net Neutrality Rules, Setting Up Another Lengthy Regulatory Battle  akingump.com Net neutrality is back as FCC votes to regulate internet providers  CNN Whatever happened to Net Neutrality?  washingtonpolicy.org President Biden: The Time To Restore Net Neutrality Is Now  American Civil Liberties Union Net Neutrality Rules Struck Down by Appeals Court (Published 2025)  The New York Times Court blocks FCC’s net neutrality rules from going into effect again  StateScoop Why Net Neutrality Can’t Wait  American Civil Liberties Union Cantwell, Markey Commend Upcoming FCC Net Neutrality Rule - U.S. Senate Committe...  Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (.gov) The Sixth Circuit Stays the FCC’s Latest Net Neutrality Flip-Flop  The Federalist Society UPDATE: Net Neutrality Open Internet Order Set Aside  Davis Wright Tremaine Sixth Circuit strikes down new neutrality regulation  Mackinac Center FCC net neutrality rule among first to fall in Loper Bright’s aftermath  Legal Dive What happened to the internet without net neutrality? : The Indicator from Planet Money  NPR Net Neutrality Violations: A History of Abuse  freepress.net The Tangled Web of Net Neutrality and Regulation  Harvard Business Review US appeals court blocks Biden administration effort to restore net-neutrality rules  Reuters Net neutrality is back. What does that mean for schools?  K-12 Dive What the Reinstatement of Net Neutrality Means for Higher Education  EdTech Magazine Myths vs. Facts: Net Neutrality  American Legislative Exchange Council The FCC Can’t Give You Net Neutrality  The Federalist Society The Internet Service Business Without Net Neutrality  Fordham Law News Sixth Circuit Strikes Down FCC Net Neutrality Rules  Inside Global Tech US appeals court overturns FCC decision reinstating net neutrality rules - JURIST - News  Jurist.org Understanding Net Neutrality  Third Way Net Neutrality is True Target of GOP Obstruction Over FCC Nominees  Tech Policy Press A return to US net neutrality rules?  The Cloudflare Blog FCC’s ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules Struck Down. Could This Mean Slower Internet for Schools?  Education Week Internet Regulation Is Back: FCC Refuses to Retire "Net Neutrality" Rules  Cato Institute What's Next for Net Neutrality?  Broadband Breakfast Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Overturns the FCC’s Net Neutrality Rules  Citizens Against Government Waste ISPs Ask Supreme Court to Find N.Y. Law Illegal – After Net Neutrality is Sorted Out  Broadband Breakfast Federal court decision won’t change California net neutrality law  latimes.com F.C.C. Moves Toward Restoring Net Neutrality Rules, Igniting Regulatory Fight (Published 2023)  The New York Times Net Neutrality is Back: A Legal Perspective on the FCC’s Recent Vote to Reinstate Neutrality  Spencer Fane The Frightening Stakes of this Halloween’s Net Neutrality Hearing  Electronic Frontier Foundation Net neutrality is struck, ending a long battle to regulate ISPs like public utilities  tpr.org Net Neutrality is Back! – Open Policy & Advocacy  blog.mozilla.org Proof That Net Neutrality Was Never about ‘Saving the Internet’  The Daily Economy Court Pulls Plug on Net Neutrality  Tech Policy Press Governor Mills Signs Law to Support Net Neutrality and Protect Internet Users  maine.gov Net Neutrality Rules Officially Struck Down  washingtonpolicy.org Sixth Circuit Court Stay Decision Risks Consumer Protections, Net Neutrality  Public Knowledge

What is Net Neutrality?

Net neutrality is the principle that Internet service providers must treat all data on the Internet the same, and not discriminate or charge differently by user, content, website, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or method of communication. For instance, under these principles, internet service providers are unable to intentionally block, slow down or charge money for specific websites and online content.

The term was coined by Columbia University media law professor Tim Wu in 2003, as an extension of the longstanding concept of a common carrier, which was used to describe the role of telephone systems.

A widely cited example of a violation of net neutrality principles was the Internet service provider Comcast's secret slowing ("throttling") of uploads from peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) applications by using forged packets. Comcast did not stop blocking these protocols, like BitTorrent, until the FCC ordered them to stop. In another minor example, The Madison River Communications company was fined US$15,000 by the FCC, in 2004, for restricting their customers' access to Vonage, which was rivaling their own services. AT&T was also caught limiting access to FaceTime, so only those users who paid for AT&T's new shared data plans could access the application. In July 2017, Verizon Wireless was accused of throttling after users noticed that videos played on Netflix and Youtube were slower than usual, though Verizon commented that it was conducting "network testing" and that net neutrality rules permit "reasonable network management practices".

Research suggests that a combination of policy instruments will help realize the range of valued political and economic objectives central to the network neutrality debate. Combined with strong public opinion, this has led some governments to regulate broadband Internet services as a public utility, similar to the way electricity, gas, and the water supply are regulated, along with limiting providers and regulating the options those providers can offer.