International Impact

I don't think the tiered network will ever fly. Say the United States deems this a "good idea" and actually implements it. The rest of the world will simply look at us quizically, and maintain their status quo. Those seeking free access and whatnot, will simply move their operations overseas.

Still, Joe America gets screwed, but likely will not notice the difference. Most people just think of their connections in terms of "fast" and "slow" anyway. They don't really care what's behind the wall socket as long as the e-mail arrives. Increased cost? It'll still boil down to who provides Joe America the cheapest connection. Only the minority diehards will notice the difference and feel sleighted that they have to pay more for what they used to have normally.

I think grassroots movements would push ad hoc wireless meshes into a greater mainstream. The US Internet would then become more of a true, dynamic network with rapidly changing routes and nodes as "FreeNet" emerges. Then, overtime, the industry will revert and have to play catch-up to the rest of the world.

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