In an op-ed, Art Thomas addressed one of the key issues underlying the debate over network neutrality. Who should pay the cost of upgrading Internet access?

Thomas argues that those companies that use the most bandwidth should bear their fair share of maintaining and upgrading networks.

…well-meaning activists are now pushing for regulations on the Internet that would actually raise the price of broadband access, effectively pulling the high-speed plug on minority and low-income youth. They are pushing for "net neutrality" legislation, which would block broadband service providers from charging large Internet companies -- like Google -- for carrying things like high-quality video into users' homes. The activists believe these laws will protect freedom of speech on the web, but no one's speech is being blocked and it's unclear why broadband providers would want to anger their subscribers through censorship. Freedom of speech is not what's at stake. Like most regulatory battles, this is about money, and the losers will be minority and low-income youth.

Large Internet companies like Google and Yahoo are making lots of money by sending millions of users huge amounts of information -- many times the amount that you or I could send in a lifetime of email. They pay to hook up to the Internet -- just like anyone -- but they are ultimately making money through your Internet connection, because every time you look at a Google search page, you glance over several small advertisements, which actually bring in billions in revenue for the search giant because of your "eyeballs." So Google pays to hook up to the Internet on its end, but doesn't pay to maintain or upgrade the network that delivers its information -- and advertisements -- to everyday users, which is how the company makes its money.

Thomas notes low broadband subscription figures for African Americans and Hispanics and worries that minorities will be "left behind, missing out on an online experience that will be crucial to their future educational, occupational and social success."

If Google chipped in and paid its fair share of the information superhighway it uses to reach its customers, not only would everyone now online have to pay less, but more people could afford to subscribe to broadband Internet. Imagine the benefit for democratic debate online if we included wider segments of society in the broadband bonanza -- more viewpoints, more innovation and, most importantly, more education. Never before in the history of our republic would people of minority and low-income backgrounds have a more powerful tool to educate, enlighten and express themselves, regardless of color or class. It would erase real barriers to higher education, as good kids in bad neighborhoods could find a world they only dreamed of waiting for them at the click of a mouse, with test preparation and college applications all online.

But net neutrality laws would block this reality, by freezing the Internet's development at present conditions. Without large Internet companies paying their fair share of the road to reach their customers, broadband costs will likely keep step with today's subscribers, but just out of reach for those who could benefit the most.

Dr. Art Thomas is the senior manager of leadership at the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, which champions historically and predominantly black colleges and universities.