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Net neutrality and broadband access in America have nothing to do with one another. Net neutrality is a movement towards legislation that supports open access to internet content and information. Recent steps in blocking certain types of information exchange, such as peer to peer sharing networks by Comcast, have been under fire as being anti-net neutrality. Net neutrality is a movement against dictating "what" someone has access to.

Broadband access, on the other hand, is high speed internet access, sometimes wireless, and is limited in the United States by economic, equipment, and location constraints. This is one way to access the information that is protected under net neutrality. There are other options if broadband is not available DSL, cable, and dial-up to name a few. But should there be no net neutrality, the amount of information able to be accessed and shared will be limited and the argument about broadband becomes a moot point.

It seems that this question should be phrased differently. The question should be "Would a loss of net neutrality act to reverse the longstanding increase in information access in America?" The answer to that would be yes. Net neutrality protects legitimate information exchange though there are arguments about the dissemination of illegal content being prevented. To block the one for worry of the other is like imprisoning an innocent man in fear that he may have committed a crime for which there is no proof.

Net neutrality would maintain the increase in information available via the internet, thus maintaining the access to the information via broadband. But they really are indirectly related.

Learn more about this author, Alicia M Prater PhD.
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