Not a good day for net neutrality…

A federal court threw the future of Internet regulations into doubt Tuesday with a far-reaching decision that went against the Federal Communications Commission and could even hamper the government’s plans to expand broadband access in the United States.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC lacks authority to require broadband providers to give equal treatment to all Internet traffic flowing over their networks. That was a big victory for Comcast Corp., the nation’s largest cable company, which had challenged the FCC’s authority to impose such “network neutrality” obligations on broadband providers.

Supporters of network neutrality, including the FCC chairman, have argued that the policy is necessary to prevent broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain Web sites and online services, such as Internet phone programs or software that runs in a Web browser. Advocates contend there is precedent: Nondiscrimination rules have traditionally applied to so-called “common carrier” networks that serve the public, from roads and highways to electrical grids and telephone lines.

But broadband providers such as Comcast, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. argue that after spending billions of dollars on their networks, they should be able to sell premium services and manage their systems to prevent certain applications from hogging capacity.

Complete Article: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=10298403

If these providers get continue to get their way in the “net neutrality” battle we may very well see internet service with tiers that resemble satellite or cable tv service. Won’t be long until we start seeing flyers resembling this one:

Man doesn’t that breakdown just look so appealing? I can get money off of my internet bill by removing game sites from my internet service.. But what’s this? It costs extra to get search engine access and access to news sites? Blast!

Dear Comcast/AT&T/other providers: why don’t you spend the money to upgrade your infrastructure instead?