How a net neutrality rollback could create a tiered internet

Critics of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai's proposal contend the end of net neutrality could create a tiered internet system that would hurt poorer Americans and small businesses, while bolstering the coffers of big businesses like Comcast and Verizon.

"In the US, where according to the FCC's own numbers, 51 percent of Americans have zero or one choice of providers, the idea that consumers will police the behavior of broadband providers and switch, it's just not borne out," said Ryan Singel, media and strategy fellow at Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society. "We've seen that broadband providers are willing to engage in behaviors that anger their own customers." 

Currently, consumers typically pay their ISPs for a certain amount of bandwidth, regardless of which services they use.  Ending net neutrality "gets us to that cable model," Singel said. "We've seen those types of internet plans. They showed up when there was no net neutrality."