Yes Nigel, a very big issue indeed.

Not a word in our neck of the woods, notwithstanding the recent blatant act of censorship perpetrated by the rodent's faceless minders on Richard Neville.

Nevertheless, as highlighted in the following report, there is a growing fightback in the US.

‘Today, Internet freedom advocates in Congress introduced legislation
that would protect Net Neutrality under the law. In the House, Rep. Ed Markey
(D-Mass.) offered the standalone "Network Neutrality Act of 2006,"
saying on the House floor, "This
legislation is designed to save the Internet and thwart those who
seek to fundamentally and detrimentally alter the Internet as we know it." 

In the Senate, Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.)
are expected to drop a bipartisan bill tomorrow with meaningful protections for
Network Neutrality. Both senators sit on the powerful Senate Commerce
Committee, which is currently drafting major new telecommunications
legislation. Their bill joins one offered by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), "The
Internet Non-Discrimination Act" (S. 2360), which was introduced earlier
this year. 

Adding to that momentum, the SavetheInternet.com Coalition announced that
in less than a week, its petition signatures to preserve Net Neutrality jumped
from 250,000 to 500,000. The number of organizations participating in the
coalition jumped from 50 to 400. 

"The fight for Internet freedom is gaining big momentum,"
said Timothy Karr, campaign director of Free Press, a national, nonpartisan
media reform and Internet policy group. "Every day, companies like
AT&T and Comcast lose ground in their fight to end the free and open
Internet that has revolutionized democratic participation and economic
innovation."’ 

Internet Freedom
Gains Big Momentum