Creating a Two-Tiered Internet the Old Fashioned Way

[SOURCE: Pulver.com, AUTHOR: Jeff Pulver]
[Commentary] One theory I have been mulling over goes as follows: What if the Bells simply slipped in ever-so-quietly, under cover of night, tariff filings with the Federal Communications Commission to make the "two-tiered" Internet a reality? I suspect that the tariffs would essentially allow for grades of service for Internet access with packet-prioritization, with varying Quality of Service and service management. The unaffiliated Internet application and content providers might be left riding the breakdown lane before they realize it. If the Bells do file tariffs with the FCC, it would be an interesting, seemingly innocuous procedural maneuver to transform the nature of the public Internet. For those of you unversed in the FCC's tariffing process (and why should any of us from the unregulated Internet space have a clue about the arcane tariff process), tariffs could go into affect on almost immediately (on one-day or 15-day notice) without a bona fide ability for any of us to weigh in. Whether or not there are legitimate reasons for disparate tiers of Internet access, it is probably important for the industry to be heard before the FCC sanctions a Bell plan to create a fast lane and a breakdown lane on the Internet. It would probably be essential to convince the FCC immediately upon receipt of a Bell tariff to suspend the tariff pending public notice, comment and review. This means that we should all be vigilant, keep alert and notify others if and when such tariffs are filed so that we are not caught off guard and forced to accept the tariffed-creation of a de facto two-tiered Internet. The last thing we need is a covert tariff filing that changes the fundamental character of the Net without any opportunity for critical discourse. Sometimes the revolution occurs under our noses, and we don't notice until it is too late...and this is also known as "hiding in plain sight."
http://pulverblog.pulver.com/archives/003573.html