The debate over "network neutrality" recently heated up with the release of seemingly conflicting poll results from two consumer organizations. Of course, the devil is always in the details, and much of the debate is about whether or not to regulate the Internet preemptively.
Survey results released on January 18 by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) showed that 70 percent of respondents "were concerned about providers blocking or impairing their access to Internet services or sites, such as Internet telephone service or online retailers like Amazon.com."
It's no surprise that consumers dislike the idea of being blocked from visiting their favorite sites on the Internet. When one company tried to block an Internet phone service last year, consumers were horrified and the Federal Communications Commission 
(FCC) correctly put a stop to that destructive behavior. However, the reality that consumers don't like to be hamstrung on the 'Net is a red herring. The current debate actually centers on the question of whether to stop Internet Service Providers (ISPs) such as Verizon or Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSK) from charging more for faster Internet services.
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