Not surprisingly, over two-thirds of Americans support net neutrality, a new survey of over 1,000 people, conducted earlier this month, has shown. One in four believe that the glacial pace of government policy making cannot keep up with the speed of IT innovations. Sixty-three percent said that all internet traffic should be the same, without the pay-for-priority “fast lanes” that broadband internet providers have suggested.
Bender Should Not Be Allowed on Television, and Telephone Regulations Should Not Apply to the Internet

The survey was conducted by Zogby Analytics for CALinnovates, a group that includes broadband provider AT&T, among other similarly interested parties. Respondents overwhelmingly agreed that decades-old regulations established for the telephone industry should not apply to the internet.

The FCC’s proposed move to reclassify broadband internet as a regulated public utility is not an acceptable one, these results show. If the internet is going to be regulated at all—which it should not be; it should remain open to all with equal footing given to every site and every access point—the only acceptable solution available is broadband’s reclassification as a regulated common carrier.

The study did not specifically ask respondents about reclassifying broadband as a regulated public utility under Title II of the Telecommunications Act because, by CALinnovates’ estimation, many of those surveyed wouldn’t have understood Title II. Thanks for thinking we’re all a bunch of dummies, CALinnovates!