Dear Sirs/Madams:

I urge you to oppose proceeding 17-108 to undo net neutrality rules.

Regulating the internet as a public utility is the ONLY means of securing this valuable infrastructure to be freely open and accessible by the people of this great country. 

To undo this regulation would be handing this valuable public resource over to the hands of a select group of private individuals who would then regulate this public resource in a manner that restricts access and compromises the first ammendment rights of the people of this nation to speak freely and openly. Additionally, handing this resource over to private entities would allow them to select winners and losers in our future economic landscape, stifling small business and cutting out those with new and emergent ideas simply because they could not afford to play on the same level as those in the established marketplace.

The internet has become not only a backbone of freedom of information but a backbone of our economy. Every day new businesses spring up on the internet, every day a new idea is expressed. To place the ability of these new ideas to be expressed and these new businesses to be provided with a foothold in our economy into the hands of private corporations would be equivalent to AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon decide, on an ongoing basis, who gets to speak in our society and who gets to become successful. 

In this country, in the greatest nation on Earth, all persons should be given equal access to this resource, and an equal chance to be heard and to contribute to an open marketplace.