saving the net

Virgin has been trying to calm the internet revolt against them for saying they would limit users' internet access for commercial ends, stating "We're not suggesting there will be any denial of access to those who don't want to pay." and then going on to confirm their previous anti-net neutrality statement: "VM could offer content providers deals to upgrade their provisioning if they want to ensure best access to to broadband subscribers.". They did not comment on their earlier statements about putting non-premium content providers on their slower "bus lanes".

A BT spokesperson gave us the following statement:
"... Unlike Virgin, we think the bandwidth we provide our users should be equal for all services and if services like the BBC iPlayer put too much strain on the bandwidth, both ISP's and content providers should educate the users on that issue so that users know when and why they may have to upgrade their account for more bandwidth if it exceeds 'fair use' terms. We always bear the consumer in mind first and have no plans to prioritize traffic from third party companies. We welcome all the Virgin customers who left because of the net neutrality issue and offer 'neutral' bandwidth."

Update: Sky has now also responded to us with a somewhat vague statement: “As video usage grows, it's natural that there will be a debate about the best way to invest in additional capacity. We want to be one of the UK's biggest and best ISPs so we'll always be guided by the desire to meet customers' needs for a high-quality internet experience."
Keep Virgin from destroying the internet...

The new CEO of Virgin Media, Neil Berkett, has openly stated in an interview that they think net neutrality is “a load of bollocks” and claimed they're already doing deals to deliver some people’s content faster than others. They would then put websites and services that don't pay Virgin in the "slow lane", meaning those sites would load slowly and cause most users to give up using them, feeling forced to use whatever Virgin wants to push through their network.

This is not the first time an internet provider infringes upon net neutrality, but it is the first time that an ISP so brutally states that they simply plan to limit internet access to a television-like system in which the access provider completely regulates the content you have access to.

Virgin Media has over 3.5 million customers in the UK and the real danger is that when they start applying this system to their network, all major internet providers around the globe will soon follow the trend. Because this is exactly what major ISP's have been wanting to do for years.

But we can stop it.

If the masses of the internet react against this, we will set an example of what happens when one provider tries to take away our freedom. We will make it very clear that any ISP who tries to infringe upon net neutrality will see its popularity go down the drain because the users don't accept it. And we'll see to it that only the providers who care about safeguarding our internet freedom have our support.

Speak out in any way you can and spread the word.

Extract from the original Television Magazine article:

Virgin Media is also looking at offering different speeds of
service to content and application providers who are willing
to pay for faster delivery. Berkett believes that the UK
Government is open to business models like “fast lane” and
“slow lane” broadband.

Talk of slow and fast lanes on the internet has proved
very controversial in the US where a strong lobby for socalled
“network neutrality” is pushing the Government to
put legislation in place that will require ISPs to deliver all
content on an equal basis to all users. The net neutrality
advocates worry about a “two-speed internet” that allows
those who can afford it superior access to services.
But according to Berkett “this net-neutrality thing is a
load of bollocks.” He says that Virgin Media is already talking to content suppliers and application makers, including
gaming companies, about how they might access the Virgin
Media subscriber base more effectively. He admits that public
service broadcasters such as the BBC, which are unwilling
to pay for access, might end up in slower “bus lanes”.