Network Neutrality: An Internet operating principle which ensures that all online users are entitled to access Internet content of their choice; run online applications and services of their choice; connect their choice of devices that do not harm the network; and have open competition among network, application, service and content providers.

Network Operator: A service provider that provides high-speed connections to the Internet using whatever technology, including but not limited to cable networks, telephone networks, fiber optic connections and wireless transmission. Net neutrality is the Internet version of common carriage. Pipes: The physical infrastructure that delivers broadband to an end user. Internet Service Provider: An ISP is a business or organization that offers users access to the Internet and related services. Many but not all ISPs are telephone or cable companies. They provide services such as Internet transit, domain name registration and hosting, dial-up access, and leased line access. Municipal wireless: Some municipalities are setting up citywide fiberoptic and wireless systems. Some such project have met with opposition from the telecom and cable industries, and currently 14 states prohibit or make it difficult for municipalities to set up such systems. CNET maintains a interactive map of projects and legislation.interactive map of projects and legislation

Cable: The term cable Internet access (or simply cable) refers to the delivery of Internet service over a special type of modem that is designed to modulate a data signal over cable television infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access, taking advantage of unused bandwidth on a cable television network. There were 22.5 million cable modem users in the United States in Common Carriage: A network usage principle that guarantees that no customer seeking reasonable service — and able to pay a competitive price — would be denied lawful use of a transportation service or would otherwise be discriminated against. For centuries, common carriage has played an important role in the infrastructure services of transportation and communications. In the US, it was broadly applied to railroads and later communications media. In 1901, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a telegraph company is a common carrier and owes a duty of non-discrimination. The Internet version of common carriage is net neutrality. DSL: Digital Subscriber Line, or DSL, is a family of technologies that provide digital data transmission over the wires used in the "last mile" of a local telephone network. Typically, the download speed of DSL ranges from 128 kilobits per second to 2.4 megabits per second.

Duopoly: Any marketplace where consumer choice is limited to two service providers. In the broadband world duopoly applies to the cable and DSL services that today control the majority of the residential and small-business broadband market. Some media watchers are worried that the much touted "free for all" of the Internet will go the same way. Proponents of "net neutrality" worry that the cable and telecom companies providing the bulk of Internet connectivity will use new fee structures, which may favor some content providers over others. Phone and cable companies have a near monopoly over internet service. More precisely, it's a 'duopoly,' which means that in more than 90 percent of American homes in the U.S., they're the only two potential sources of Internet service. The cable company's only competitor is the phone company, and vice-versa

Back in 2007, shortly after that report aired, "The Associated Press" reported that Comcast, the nation's largest cable provider, was manipulating the speed of web traffic and discriminating against certain customers. The Federal Communications Commission told Comcast to stop it. Comcast argued back that the commission had no business telling it how to manage network traffic. Now a federal court of appeals has come down on Comcast's side, ruling that The FCC has limited authority to regulate the Internet.

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