What's an ISP? (That's not a trick question)

[Commentary] What, exactly, comprises an ISP? Is it a telco that also offers Internet connectivity? A wireless provider? What about a content provider? The answers have far-reaching consequences for policy issues like universal broadband and Network Neutrality. Take, for example, Amazon WhisperNet, the Internet connection between the company's e-book, Kindle, its website and the rest of the Net. Whether intentionally or not, Amazon has now created the first free coast-to-coast consumer ISP. Amazon's "Internet service" makes it extraordinarily easy to connect to Amazon.com — and extraordinarily cumbersome to get to, say, BarnesandNoble.com. That is, Amazon's an ISP that unabashedly favors one content source (Amazon) over another (Barnes and Noble). And by doing so it violates the fundamental premise of net neutrality — which is not to prioritize content from source A over content from source B. So if you support net neutrality, you'll need to tell Amazon to close up shop, at least for the Kindle. Bottom line: The Internet continues to evolve. Let's hope that the next administration's better than the previous one at understanding these changes.