Alphonse asks:

Dear Dr. FCC: The other day I was giving a report in my high school class trying to explain why net neutrality is so important, and, like, somebody asked me for a definition of net neutrality, and, like, I couldn't explain it, but I said I'd ask you.

So, like, what is net neutrality anyway?

Dear Alphonse:

The hell if I know, kid. Let's, like, ask the experts.

From About.com:

"Net neutrality refers to the way information is transmitted on the internet. With a neutral internet set up, internet service providers and search engines merely send you the information or the website for which are looking. ISPs are hoping to replace this neutral system with a fee based system in which websites would be pay a fee to the ISP for the service, and the sites that pay the highest fees would be prioritized . . . "

From Common Cause:

"Network neutrality is the principle that Internet users should be able to access any web content they choose and use any applications they choose, without restrictions or limitations imposed by their Internet service provider."

From the Congressional Research Service:

"There is no single accepted definition of 'net neutrality.' However, most agree that any such definition should include the general principles that owners of the networks that compose and provide access to the Internet should not control how consumers lawfully use that network; and should not be able to discriminate against content provider access to that network."

From Larry Downes:

"The general idea of net neutrality is to ensure that broadband access providers (defined in the IFPA as 2-way transmission in which transmission in at least one direction is at least 200 kilobits per second) make their infrastructure available in a content-neutral pricing scheme - no charging (or offering as a premium service) more to deliver on a higher priority content from any particular subset of providers."

From the Federal Communications Commission:

"The Commission has jurisdiction necessary to ensure that providers of telecommunications for Internet access or Internet Protocol-enabled (IP-enabled) services are operated in a neutral manner. Moreover, to ensure that broadband networks are widely deployed, open, affordable, and accessible to all consumers, the Commission adopts the following principles:

• To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice.
• To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement.
• To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network.13
• To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers."

From

"Fundamentally, net neutrality is about equal access to the Internet. In our view, the broadband carriers should not be permitted to use their market power to discriminate against competing applications or content. Just as telephone companies are not permitted to tell consumers who they can call or what they can say, broadband carriers should not be allowed to use their market power to control activity online."

From Ray Lin, University of California:

"Simply put, net neutrality is a network design paradigm that argues for broadband network providers to be completely detached from what information is sent over their networks. In essence, it argues that no bit of information should be prioritized over another. This principle implies that an information network such as the internet is most efficient and useful to the public when it is less focused on a particular audience and instead attentive to multiple users."

From PC Magazine Encyclopedia:

"Refers to the absence of restrictions placed on the type of content carried over the Internet by the carriers and ISPs that run the major backbones. It states that all traffic be treated equally; that packets are delivered on a first-come, first-served basis regardless from where they originated or to where they are destined."

From David Vaina:

"Net neutrality is the idea that those who provide internet service treat the content producers equally. It is the framework, as it exists now, that allows users to access Google, blogs, and everything in between at the same speed, thus leveling the playing field between the largest media companies and ordinary citizens who produce an estimated 60% of the content on the Web."

From Webopedia:

"Network neutrality or net neutrality, as it is abbreviated, is the term used to describe networks that are open to equal access to all . They are non-discriminatory as they do not favor any one destination or application over another."

From Whatis.com:

"Net neutrality is the principle that data packets on the Internet should be moved impartially, without regard to content, destination or source. Net neutrality is sometimes referred to as the 'First Amendment of the Internet'."

From Wikipedia:

"Network neutrality (equivalently "net neutrality", "internet neutrality" or "NN") is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. Put simply, Net Neutrality means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination."

From Tim Wu:

"Network neutrality is best defined as a network design principle. The idea is that a maximally useful public information network aspires to treat all content, sites, and platforms equally. This allows the network to carry every form of information and support every kind of application."

From Xiaowei Yang, Gene Tsudik, and Xin Liu, Department of Computer Science, UC Irvine:

"ISPs should not be able to discriminate against packets based on contents, application types, or packet sources or destinations that are not their own customers. We call this type of discrimination non-neutral discrimination. But ISPs are eligible to offer differentiated services to their customers. Our hypothesis is that the present market structure may not have sufficient competition to prevent an access ISP from degrading the service of a particular application or a site, but might be sufficient to keep them from intentionally ill-treating their own customers."

Got a question about the FCC that needs answering? Dr. FCC and he'll offer his expert opinion on the subject or copy someone else's opinion if necessary.