I am on the fence on this one.  Being a parent I see the benefit of me subscribing to a service or service provider that filters its content so I don’t need to or know how to.  Products that come to mind are Cyber Sitter, Net Nanny or equivalent..  On the other hand, I believe in education.  I need to teach my children about the internet.  There may be situations I need access to information out there that may be blocked for my children not for me. 

Is it possible to get both? I think yes. I don’t think service providers should block content without letting me know in advance.  This is so I can decide if their service is good for me.  If they are going to offer this service, let people know, or offer two types of services.  Let the free market decide.  I don’t have a problem with them prioritizing traffic, or de-prioritizing traffic as the case might be.  I dont mind them requiring you to relay your outbound mail through their server.  I think those help the net in general and it is the obligation of the provider to protect them self.

Intelletrace Offers Dedicated (unshared no aggregation) direct internet access to the internet.  This is how I believe it should be done, this is what we advertise.  This is what we do. 

Why this blog?  this is a post from the Washington Post regarding the following article.

FCC looks at ways to assert authority over Web access

As a recent court hearing and industry opposition have cast doubt on its power over Web service providers.
The FCC, which regulates public access to telephone and television services, has been working to claim the same role for the Internet. The stakes are high, as the Obama administration pushes an agenda of open broadband access for all and big corporations work to protect their enormous investments in a new and powerful medium.
“This is a pivotal moment,” said Ben Scott, director of policy at the public interest group Free Press. The government wants to treat broadband Internet as a national infrastructure, he said, like phone lines or the broadcast spectrum. But federal regulators are grappling with older policies that do not clearly protect consumers’ access to the Web, their privacy or prices of service.
The issue may have reached a turning point last week when a federal appeals court questioned the limits of the FCC’s authority in a 2008 case involving Comcast. The agency had ordered the Internet and cable giant to stop blocking subscribers’ access to the online file-sharing service BitTorrent. But in an oral hearing last Friday, three judges grilled an FCC lawyer over whether the agency had acted outside the scope of its authority.
The appeals court is still hearing the case, but analysts predict that the FCC will lose and that the ruling could throw all of its efforts to oversee Internet access into question. A loss could undermine the legality of FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s push for policies that would prohibit service providers from restricting customers’ access to legal Web content — the concept known as net neutrality — and throw into doubt the agency’s ability to oversee pricing and competition among Internet service providers.

What is the difference between a Carrier, Agent?

Carrier:
Technically any company that can sell you the service and then bills you for the services including taxes is a carrier. There are many companies that will buy the service from somewhere else include the taxes as a cost of goods then mark it up and bill you a flat rate. Be cautious if you don’t see taxes on your invoices. It is not that you are a good guy; it is probably they aren’t registered to collect, or sell the services.

Here are a few examples of carrier designations and a wiki link for more detail.

• LEC – Local Exchange Carrier
• CLEC – A competitive Local exchange carrier.
• IXC – Interexchange Carrier

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