Net Neutrality an Honest Debate

I’ve been leaning towards the side of the Net Neutrality people for quite some time now. This is mostly because I haven’t heard anything from the big ISPs other than a bunch of PR rhetoric. Security Now episode 457 finally has an honest debate between a content provider and an ISP. What makes this debate so great is that it’s between the little guys; an ISP and a content provider who are both just trying to keep the lights on. I think it gives some honest insight into the issues on both sides http://twit.tv/show/security-now/457.

My biggest takeaway from this debate is that the Internet has become a utility and needs to be treated as such. Bits are bits; this is core philosophy behind Net Neutrality. This is akin to a kilowatt being a kilowatt and water being water. The power and water companies do not care how or why you are using their power or water; they are, however, going to charge you for every kilowatt and every drop. If we really want Net Neutrality, users of the Internet must be willing to pay for what they use. This seems to be the only way ISPs will be able to recoup their costs without needing to try to cut backroom deals with content providers.

Based on this debate do you agree? What solutions are available? How would various solutions and forms of regulation affect innovation and raise barrier to entries for Internet start-ups?