Re: Free internet
I think you're missing the point that you pay for your end of the bit pipe, and your ISP pays some of that to the people who run big fat bit pipes around the world.
What you haven't paid anything towards is anyone else's connection to the bit pipes - and that includes those serving up web pages etc. Your argument is a bit like buying a car (talking UK here) and paying your taxes - then complaining that the ferry company wants paying to carry your car across the channel, and the French want to charge you for using their roads.
I agree with the others, and the bit right at the end of the article. A lot of what people expect to get "for free" is currently paid for through advertising (and the privacy invasions that make it more lucrative) as there's no viable alternative at the moment.
I do actually pay to certain services I use - even though some of them are usable without. But the ones where the choice is offered, and the value is enough to make separate subscriptions viable, are a very small minority.