One cable to rule them all

Revelations that major telecoms — including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon — slow the internet connections of high-volume users, has prompted a renewed vogue for net neutrality.

Senators Olympia Snowe and Byron Dorgan have called for a new round of hearings regarding both specific incidents of throttling, and the broader context of the issue.

Telecoms feel enterprises that are bandwidth intensive, like Google and Apple, should pay more for premium performance. But advocates of an open internet believe all data transmissions should be treated equally, with no restrictions or tiered service levels in place.

The net neutrality bill, revisited by Snowe and Dorgan, was first submitted in January but has languished in legislative limbo since then.