More and more, the issue of “network neutrality” has come to the public’s attention. “Net neutrality” is really about discrimination by the phone and cable companies. That is, discrimination among internet users and content providers, but for our purposes, I’ll use independent artists and independent media as an example.

The Internet has become an extremely cost-effective way for independent artists to get their work out to the masses. On the Internet, independent artists can compete on a level playing field with any other artist as long as they have broadband access. That’s because, through the Internet, they can reach millions of people. That could change.

Here’s why: the phone and cable companies are considering charging content providers, such as artists who provide video files on their sites, an extra fee to get their video in a “fast lane.” That means those who pay up get to have their videos, film, or whatever content you may have to offer travel in the fast lane. If not, you’ll end up in the “slow lane” with everyone else.

If this weren’t bad enough, phone and cable companies could also enter into exclusive deals. That means the phone and cable companies will only offer the fast lane option to certain preferred content providers. This means, if the phone and cable companies don’t offer you a deal, even when you have the resources to pay up, you’ll still end up in the slow lane with everyone else.

It’s also important to recognize this is also very different than having to pay extra to get a greater speed of bandwidth. Right now, once a user pays for his or her bandwidth, that user can do whatever he or she wants with it; and independent artists have done just that. They’ve used that bandwidth, either themselves or in collaboration with others, as a means to promote and deliver their work to other Internet users.

Now, phone and cable companies want to double-dip into the artists’ pockets. They not only want to charge artists for the bandwidth into the home, but they also want to charge artists a fee so that the artists can have their content travel over the fast lane.

What this means is that if you’ve paid to get your website in the fast lane, any user who tries to access your site is guaranteed to have “no issues” downloading your site or viewing a video file that the user may be attempting to get. By “no issues,” I mean slow or delayed connections to your site because you’re trying to fight the congestion on the slow lanes. Imagine the user’s experience if every time he or she tried to access your website, the download time was slow and delayed. Well, if you haven’t paid up and are stuck in the slow lane, the user will at least get to you, eventually, unless they can get to someone else faster or they just give up trying to reach your site.

This year, there were attempts to get Congress to pass laws that would make sure the Internet stays as it is, so the phone and cable companies cannot charge content providers, such as independent artists for travel in a fast lane. Of course, the phone and cable companies were fighting hard against such a law, and attempts towards net neutrality legislation were defeated. However, with the new Congress, there may again be attempts to get such legislation enacted, but it is too soon to tell and whether such attempts would be successful.

In the meantime, let your Senators and Representatives in Congress know you care about this issue. Let them know you don’t want the phone and cable companies deciding who gets preferential treatment and who gets discriminated against. Let them know that it’s you, the artist and the audience, that makes the Internet so valuable and diverse, not the phone and cable companies.

[Parul Desai is the Assistant Director of Media Access Project, “a non-profit public interest telecommunications law firm which represents the public’s in promoting the First Amendment rights to speak and to hear” based in Washington DC.]