Millions of people will be forced to pay a "congestion charge" for sending e-mail under plans being developed by US telephone companies to create a "two-tier" Internet.
In a move which campaigners warn will destroy the openness and equality of the World Wide Web, the US telecommunications group AT&T is lobbying politicians to allow the development of "fast" and "slow" Internet services.
All data moving around the net is now treated equally and moves at the same speed, whether it is a personal blog or the Web site of a multinational corporation.
But with the quantity of traffic soaring by the day, there are fears that the network could become clogged and slow down. US Internet service providers argue that they should be allowed to charge customers to use a "fast lane" giving their data priority.
Industry experts say a "two-tier Internet" could see individuals and businesses charged for each e-mail they send, or asked to pay a premium for services such as online TV or an annual subscription for constant preferential treatment.
This could leave less well-off users in the"slow lane" of the information superhighway with an inferior service, as e-mails take longer to arrive and Web sites work more slowly.
AT&T is urging politicians to block legislation that would prevent it creating different tiers of service. It is opposed by content providers including Amazon, eBay, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo, as well as a campaign, the Save the Internet coalition, which has gathered more than a million signatures on a petition in defense of "net neutrality."
Last week the telephone companies won a crucial victory at a Senate committee hearing, but an "epic battle" is now predicted in the full Senate.
Analysts say it is too early to know how such a change in the US would affect people in other countries, although anyone who does business there or visits a US Web site might be affected.
In the longer term they predict that other service providers could follow the example of their US counterparts by seeking to create a two-tier network.
David Tansley, a technology specialist at the UK consulting firm Deloitte, said: "The question is, how do you marshall a finite resource where demand exceeds supply? Do you just keep adding lanes to the motorway or do you look for a way of disincentivising some of the motorists? Unless you can defy the laws of physics, you have to consider a congestion charge."
Tansley defended the right of firms which own the broadband "pipes" needed for Internet delivery to levy a charge as demand rises exponentially.
"We treat the Internet as a right, like oxygen or water, but the reality is that it's built by commercial companies," Tansley said.
"The Internet needs to grow up and become more professional. Why should people be able to grab more or less on a whim?" he said.
"E-mail is analogous to the postal service, in which you pay a bit more for first class and next day delivery," Tansley said.
"It may be that `second class' e-mail will be good enough for most users most of the time," he said.
In the US, however, the coalition -- made up of groups from across the political spectrum -- argues that a two-tier system would be potentially disastrous.
"If Congress turns the Internet over to the phone and cable giants, everyone who uses it will be affected," a spokesman said.
"Connecting to your office could take longer if you don't purchase your carrier's preferred applications. Sending family photos and videos could slow to a crawl," he said.
"Web pages you always use for online banking, access to healthcare information, planning a trip, or communicating with friends and family could fall victim to pay-for-speed schemes," the spokesman said.
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