Originally Posted by
The Letter I'll Send
Senator Rubio,
My name is Joshua Pavlica and I am a student at the University of Michigan. I believe you talked to my parents in Hawaii and I greatly appreciate your time in taking this phone call or reading this message.
As you know, Net Neutrality is a big topic in the FCC and in Congress right now. The FCC’s Chairman, Tom Wheeler, is a former lobbyist for cable companies that was installed by President Obama even after our President declared that lobbyists have no place in his administration.
Tom Wheeler, who will most likely earn a board position at a cable company once his stratified and mutated version of TRUE Net Neutrality passes in 100 days, does not deserve to be the head chairman and a Republican should be named the head Chairman in his stead.
As that process is difficult, we are at an impasse:
Cable companies want to create a “fast lane” to double-dip in their profits from both the user at home trying to watch a movie on Netflix and the company Netflix as well. By creating a “fast lane”, any new start-up companies that are creating innovations to better our future won’t be able to have the same, equal opportunity that the American dream is supposed to ensure.
The way to prevent that everyone has the same freedom of expression and improve innovation in our Internet Speeds (which, according to multiple independent studies is 5x slower than Europe and costs us 10x more for inadequate service) is to reclassify the Internet.
The one way to ensure the freedom and openness of the Internet is to reclassify the Internet as a Title II service. This allows for the government to regulate the Internet and ensure that everyone has equal access to the Internet.
Mobile Broadband, often seen as an opponent to traditional cable, is actually as fast as it is today due to it being classified as a Title II service. Companies like Verizon have invested BILLIONS of dollars in improving their network capabilities because of the fierce competition that a Title II classification creates. Even with these improvements, however, Mobile Broadband for an entire family of four, like my parents beside you, would cost over $400 a month for an equal quality of service that I can get for $50 a month from a local cable company.
If you take away one thing from this phone call, I URGE YOU to reclassify the Internet as a Title II service. Companies like Netflix, Google, Facebook, and even the people that CREATED the Internet support it.
If TRUE Net Neutrality is not preserved as it was created in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, then in our future we will have to pay to access Internet websites like Facebook and Twitter like we do HBO and Starz – and all innovation in the technology industry will move AWAY from America and move to Canada, Europe, and Asia.
The Internet is at a turning point in its history: Either the FCC and the American government protect its openness and neutrality so that everyone has an equal shot at using its services, or the Internet becomes a commodity to be bought and sold to this highest bidder, restricting its access to all and forever changing and tarnishing American history.
I implore you to consider how the Internet got to where it is today - through its openness and neutrality. If that changes, as the telecommunications companies and the FCC currently want it to, the Internet will never be the same.
Thank you for your time, and I hope you have a blessed day.
-Joshua Pavlica
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