I’m a software developer and internet professional. My livelihood depends on an unfettered, open and fast internet. The software company I work for relies on fast internet on a daily basis, from CRM solutions like salesforce.com to direct interaction with customers using GoToMeeting… not to mention our own web site, which is one of our primary lead-generation tools for sales. Moreover, our company is spread far and wide, allowing each employee to live and enjoy the quality of life in the city of their choice (San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, and Moscow are among them)… this team would not exist if it weren’t for dependable fast internet. It simply wouldn’t be possible for us to conduct business!

I also depend on unfettered internet access in my personal life, to order books, music and other goods, find information on a variety of topics, and keep in touch with friends and family around the country (and world!). Lastly, I maintain a blog about my experiences with Hepatitis C to help others facing the same problem, and have a web site where I show my own artwork.

It’s bad enough that I’m getting reamed by Comcast to the tune of $70/Month to keep my door to the world open… but so be it, that’s the current market price for fast access where I live. If I or the online services I depend on were to get “slow-laned”, it would be devastating on multiple levels. Allowing the internet to be controlled by the tight grip of a very few companies fails the principle of the free market.