By Dalton Delan
Once upon a time, when Al Gore invented it, the internet was a rutted dirt road that got you where you wanted to go as long as you knew DOS (disk operating system). Now you pay extra for "high speed" access, and a handful of major players essentially control the toll roads at rush hour - which is to say, anytime and every time.
This summer, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai put the final stake in the heart of the Old West era of the internet when he pushed through a repeal of the "net neutrality" regulations put in place under President Obama. Without this odd and misunderstood phrase, declaring a sort of Zurich of the Internet, broadband providers could - in theory at least
- prioritize for pay one company's signal over another's. The digital equivalent of HOV lanes could divide the Prius and Tesla drivers from the rest of us gas-guzzlers.