- More Broadband Options
To the Editor: Re “OPEC 2.0” (Op-Ed, July 30):We find Tim Wu’s warning of a coming “bandwidth cartel” ridiculous when you consider the rapid progress America is making in expanding better and more affordable broadband options. A decade ago, basic DSL cost $70 a month in Pennsylvania and $90 a month in California (not adjusting for inflation). Since then, prices have plunged, while online speeds and access choices have surged.
Meanwhile, Wi-Fi spots are in virtually every coffee shop, and more than 15 million users have signed up for wireless broadband, which is also getting faster. In short, the trend is toward the opposite of a bandwidth cartel. Equally important, maintaining a quality Internet requires sophisticated data management on the network, not just new bandwidth. Even the Japanese, with their high-speed networks, have accepted the need to manage data traffic to keep up with P2P, or peer-to-peer, file-sharing and other data-intensive applications.
Mike McCurry and Christopher Wolf, Hands Off the Internet
Letter to Editor, The New York Times
August 4, 2008 - Net Neutrality Could Sabotage Health Care Tech
All too often the net neutrality debate is spun as if it were synonymous with a free, open, and democratic world. But does it really make sense to tie the hands of network operators and force them to treat music downloads with the same urgency as health monitoring or enhancing technologies? It simply doesn’t, which makes proposals such as the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act, recently reintroduced in Congress, a bad idea. That act would prohibit network operators from blocking, impairing, or discriminating against lawful Internet content, applications, and services or charging extra fees for prioritization or enhanced quality of service. Baby boomers, in particular, should be outraged by this type of proposed legislation. They are the generation that fought for civil rights and free speech, and are now witnessing that vision being used as a justification to establish price controls that could mean the difference between life and death. The UCLA conference served as a fascinating foray into the future of health care, assuming a healthy Internet. Research into aging and technology is a “broad area that includes people from diverse backgrounds, including industry, academics, health care and others,” said UCLA professor Gary Small, M.D., who organized the conference. Right now, the list does not automatically include regulators at the Federal Communications Commission, and one hopes it will stay that way.
Info Tech & Telecom News
July 1, 2008 - Canadian Bill Would Mimic U.S. Net Neutrality Efforts
A Canadian bill would mandate net neutrality in language similar to that introduced in Congress and in the so-called FCC Four Freedoms. C-552, offered by MP Charlie Angus, of the minority New Democratic Party, would prevent network operators from managing networks to “favor, degrade or prioritize any content… based on its source, ownership or destination.” The bill makes exceptions for relieving network congestion in a “reasonable manner,” network security, emergency communications, pricing based on bandwidth available and actual data usage, “consumer protection services” such as parental control software, contract breaches and stopping lawbreakers. Users could attach any device to a network that doesn’t physically damage it or degrade others’ use of the network. Operators would have to tell users the connection speed, network management practices and limitations on use “at any given time.” Canadian neutrality proponents have complained that Bell Canada recently decided to “throttle” P2P traffic from wholesale ISP customers at certain times, using traffic-shaping technology that some also called a privacy violation.
Communications Daily
June 2, 2008 - For Hispanics, Net neutrality isn’t neutral at all
It’s hard for many of us to imagine our daily routines without high-speed access to the Internet. We use fast broadband connections to send and receive e-mail, get news and information, pay bills, make purchases, download music and video, play games and much more. Indeed, the current generation of college students has never known a world without widespread Internet access, and many take broadband for granted.
Gus West, The Denver Post
May 23, 2008 - Regulating the Net
Your May 19 editorial “Democracy and the Web” argues for broad new federal regulation of the Internet — a first in Internet history. You say that “if Internet service providers started discriminating among content to make more money or to suppress ideas they do not like,” users will suffer. What you overlook is that there already are laws and regulators poised to deal with any such hypothetical problems.
Mike McCurry and Christopher Wolf, Hands Off the Internet
Letter to Editor, The New York Times
May 19, 2008 - White House Opposes Congress’s Net Neutrality Efforts
The Bush administration opposes legislation to bar Internet operators from favoring one company’s Web service over others, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said today.
Todd Shields, Bloomberg
May 19, 2008 - Net Neutrality Tops Lawmakers’Concerns to CCIA
Net neutrality was Tuesday’s hot topic in tech policy on and off the Hill. Lawmakers addressed the Computer and Communications Industry Association annual caucus, then took part in
a House Telecom Subcommittee hearing on the Internet Freedom Preservation Act.
Greg Piper, Communications Daily
May 7, 2008 - Proposed regulation would discourage broadband investment, stunt innovation
At first glance, so-called “net neutrality” regulations seem reasonable and harmless. However, a deeper examination reveals that net neutrality is neither reasonable nor harmless. Imposing neutrality mandates is unnecessary and overly burdensome. Mandates would harm consumers, reduce competition, and discourage new investment and innovation at a time of tremendous technological growth. Proponents of neutrality regulations are seeking to fix something that is not broken. Proposed net neutrality legislation is a solution in search of a problem.
Editorial by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), The Hill
May 6, 2008 - Comcast’s Network Practices Need Scrutiny, FCC Chief Says
The FCC chairman stopped short of asking Congress to act, arguing against passing new laws to enforce openness on the Web, a concept known as net neutrality. He said that the FCC had sufficient authority to enforce its four broad principles on broadband Internet management and that the agency should evaluate complaints on a case-by-case basis.
Cecilia Kang, Washington Post
April 22, 2008 - Spare the Net
Despite the benefits the Internet has created and the dynamic innovations that continue, there is a move afoot to turn the Internet over to federal regulators in the name of protecting “Net neutrality,” a nebulous concept that may turn out to be nastier than it sounds.
Dick Armey, Editorial in Washington Times
April 22, 2008 - Senate to Tackle Net Neutrality This Week
With the ambitious title “The Future of the Internet,” the hearing before the full Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, will consider the broad themes of “developing applications, consumer expectations and network operation.”
Kenneth Corbin, InternetNews.com
April 21, 2008 - An Alternative to ‘Net Neutrality’
Google, MoveOn.org and other comrades in regulation have been calling for more government control of Internet service for several years now. The good news is they’ve just suffered a setback.
Wall Street Journal Editorial
April 14, 2008 - Net Neutrality Could Harm Competition, Ex-FCC Chief Economist Says
Formal net neutrality rules could stifle business deals that could change how the Internet is used, a former FCC chief economist told Wednesday’s Internet Video Policy Symposium. Google’s search engine and Apple’s iPhone in particular owe their ascendancy — and pressure on rivals to improve products and services — to regulators’ hands-off approach, said Tom Hazlett, director of the Information Economy Project at George Mason University. Panelists agreed that providers’ network management practices should be transparent, not kept secret, as Comcast did with its BitTorrent traffic-shaping policies.
Communications Daily
March 20, 2008 - House Judiciary chairman Conyers opposed to network neutrality law
Congress may have to stop broadband Internet providers from charging content providers higher fees for priority access to the Internet, a senior House of Representatives Democrat said on Tuesday….Tuesday’s hearing prompted an immediate response from an advocacy group that represents some broadband providers and other companies, Hands Off the Internet. It warned that imposing network neutrality regulations would inhibit the investment needed to upgrade broadband networks.
Peter Kaplan, Reuters
March 11, 2008 - House Judiciary chairman Conyers opposed to network neutrality law
Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Tuesday there was no need for Congress to consider regulating content that travels over the Internet, setting up a possible dispute with rival Democrats over the need to preserve so-called network neutrality. He said the argument hadn’t been made for Congress to consider passing laws governing the flow of traffic over the Web.
Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswire
March 11, 2008 - Beware Of New Network Neutrality Push
With the introduction of the misleadingly named Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008 by Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey, the push for regulating the Internet under a so-called network neutrality regime has begun again in earnest.
Phil Kerpen, Forbes
March 5, 2008 - Internet Wrecking Ball
Imagine a town that has all sorts of gasoline pipelines running by it but only one gas pump. Rationing is inevitable. So are price controls. Everyone gets equal amounts, except of course first responders like police and ambulances, which should get all the gas they want. And, well, so should the mayor. And if you can make a good business case that you work 60 miles away, you can file paperwork and perhaps pull some strings for more gas. How about those kids hot-rodding around town who can’t drive 55? They get last dibs, and maybe we can sneak in some gas thinner to slow down their engines and not waste gas.
Andy Kessler, Wall Street Journal
February 25, 2008 - Net neutrality fight will demand big bucks
Advocates of the latest legislation aimed at preventing Internet service providers from limiting consumers’ access to Web content are buoyed by such influential allies as Google and Amazon.
Chris Frates, Politico
February 18, 2008 - Bill Bars Web Traffic Discrimination
The Hands Off the Internet coalition, whose members include AT&T, Qwest Communications International Inc. and others, said Markey’s bill leaves regulatory fingerprints, regardless of what he calls it.
The New York Times
February 13, 2008 - Comcast Defends Web Traffic Methods With U.S. Regulators
NEW YORK - Comcast Corp has told U.S. regulators it uses reasonable measures to manage traffic moving over its broadband service as some of its customers overwhelm the network by using file-sharing applications like BitTorrent. In an 80-page filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, Comcast gave its most detailed explanation of how it manages Internet traffic on its service, naming BitTorrent as prime culprit, but again denied it blocks content, applications or discriminates among providers.
The New York Times, By Reuters
February 13, 2008 - Officials Step Up Net-Neutrality Efforts
Big broadband companies are headed for a clash with Washington over whether consumers have a right to get as much as they want from the Internet, as fast as they want it, without paying extra for the privilege. Complaints that cable titan Comcast Corp. is deliberately delaying some Internet traffic are prompting moves in Washington to block efforts by broadband providers to favor some kinds of Internet traffic over others.
Amy Schatz, Dionne Searcey and Vishesh Kumar, The Wall Street Journal
February 13, 2008 - Markey Said To Back Network Neutrality Study
Rep. Edward Markey, (D.-Mass.), a senior House Democrat, is expected to introduce legislation as soon as Tuesday that would order the Federal Communications Commission to study network neutrality issues and report back to Congress in one year or less, according to lobbyists and a House aide tracking the effort.
Ted Hearn, Multichannel News
February 11, 2008 - Lawmakers Gear Up for Another ‘Net Neutrality’ Debate
The debate over “net neutrality” is set to re-emerge as early as this week, with Rep. Edward J. Markey preparing to unveil long-awaited legislation on the controversial topic.
Congressional Quarterly Today
February 8, 2008 - Net Neutrality Advocates are ‘Antiproperty,’ Critic Says
Tech companies pushing for access to spectrum “white spaces” and for net neutrality and open access on broadband and wireless networks have an antiproperty agenda, says one critic.
PC World
February 3, 2008 - A Consumer-Welfare Approach to Network Neutrality Regulation of the Internet
“Network neutrality” is the shorthand for a proposed regime of economic regulation for the Internet. Because of the trend to deliver traditional telecommunications services, as well as new forms of content and applications, by Internet protocol (IP), a regime of network neutrality regulation would displace or subordinate a substantial portion of existing telecommunications regulation. If the United States adopts network neutrality regulation, other industrialized nations probably will soon follow.
J. Gregory Sidak, Criterion Economics
- Markey’s Search For GOP Backing Delays Net Neutrality Bill
Rep. Edward Markey is seeking a Republican co-sponsor of his upcoming bill on network neutrality in an effort to bolster its prospects upon introduction next month, multiple sources said. The bill will be aimed at preventing communications giants such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon Communications from potentially blocking or degrading competing content or services carried over their high-speed Internet networks.
David Hatch, Technology Daily
January 24, 2008 - The Search Party
Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the founders of Google, believe that expanding their company’s lobbying operation in Washington, D.C., has become a necessity.
Ken Auletta, New Yorker
January 14, 2008 - FCC Seeks Comment on Network Neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission on Monday asked for public comment on whether its guidelines on network neutrality would prevent Internet network operators from discriminating against certain applications used over their networks.
AP, Houston Chronicle
January 14, 2008 - Network neutrality | Hysteria makes for bad law
It goes by the unremarkable and unrevealing moniker, “network neutrality.” Yet it represents one of the most important subjects brewing in the field of communications today. Network neutrality would ensure that Internet service providers (ISPs) such as AT&T and Verizon treat all content that goes across their networks the same. Consumer groups are pushing for a net-neutrality law that bans ISPs from degrading content and charging extra for Web sites to load as fast as possible. The issue is at the heart of a debate over peer-to-peer file-sharing networks.
Avis Yates Rivers, Seattle Times
December 20, 2007 - New Net neutrality proposal planned for January
The pro-Net neutrality lobby hasn’t seen much action on legislation billed as necessary to “save the Internet” this year. But a key congressional Democrat says to expect a new push in 2008.
Anne Broache, CNET
December 19, 2007 - Save Internet freedom–from regulation
Rep. Edward Markey is preparing to reintroduce legislation that would prohibit Internet access providers from offering priority service to content providers–known as the Net neutrality principle. Similar legislation has failed in both the House and Senate in the past, but proponents of Net neutrality haven’t given up.
Larry Downes, CNET
December 12, 2007 - Telecom Leader Against Web Regulation
USTelecom CEO Walter B. McCormick Jr. described the idea of “net neutrality” - the principle that Internet traffic be treated equally by carriers - as a set of “hypothetical concerns” that would lead to government regulation of the Internet. However, McCormick praised government efforts in Arkansas and other states to fund projects mapping where residents - and possible customers - cannot access broadband Internet service.
Jon Gambrell, Forbes
December 7, 2007 - Net Neutrality Murky, Says Top Antitrust Official
The DoJ’s Antitrust Division studied the desirability of a net neutrality requirement in weighing the Bell- South-AT&T merger last year but found no “significant market failure” to justify such a measure, Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the division said Thursday at a Practising Law Institute conference. The FCC did impose a neutrality obligation when it approved the merger.
Howard Buskirk, Communications Daily
December 6, 2007 - Arnold Drops Net Neutrality
The governator has joined the net neutrality debate, throwing his political heft behind incumbent phone companies.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week attended a made-for-media forum in Los Angeles on digital infrastructure to promote upgrading the state’s hard-line broadband pipelines so Hollywood and Silicon Valley can capitalize on innovations like video on the Internet.
Mark Veverka, Technology Week
December 3, 2007 - Net neutrality to get new life in Congress
Just in time for presidential primary season, a key Democrat who championed Net neutrality laws during the last Congress is finally planning to try again. Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), the chairman of a House of Representatives Internet and telecommunications panel, is readying a new version of his Network Neutrality Act, which was twice defeated by the Republican-controlled Congress during its consideration of a sweeping broadband policy bill last year.
Anne Broache, CNET
November 27, 2007 - Markey Seeks To Revive Network Neutrality Debate
Rep. Edward Markey plans to introduce legislation in December to set the stage for congressional debate in 2008 on the ability of telecommunications companies to restrict content carried over their wireline and wireless high-speed Internet networks.
David Hatch, Tech Daily
November 26, 2007 - ‘Net neutrality’ punishes everyone for Comcast’s actions
On Oct. 19, an investigation by the Associated Press revealed that Comcast is blocking certain Internet traffic to optimize the efficiency of its network. These controversial tactics renewed calls for “Net neutrality” regulations that would force service providers such as Comcast to give all data equal treatment. If such rules were enacted, however, the Internet would follow the path of another “neutral” network that stumbled exactly 20 years earlier.
Daniel R. Ballon, Ph.D, Op-Ed in The Hill
November 13, 2007 - Hands Off Sends Letter to FCC
Net neutrality opponents found a rare bit of agreement with backers on the subject of Comcast’s network management practices surrounding P2P transfers (CD Nov 2 p9). Hands Off the Internet said in a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin that the agency has the authority to investigate the alleged violation of its “four freedoms” by Comcast for delaying uploads through the BitTorrent protocol. The group said the legitimacy of the four freedoms is at stake, requiring Comcast to be cleared by the FCC or held responsible for any violations. “With both outcomes, the process works and the integrity of the four principles” remains intact, said the letter from co-chairs Christopher Wolf and Mike McCurry, who was President Bill Clinton’s press secretary. The Supreme Court has recognized the FCC’s authority to enforce its principles in the Brand X decision, and Martin has said the FCC has “ancillary authority” over infrastructure providers, the letter said.
Communications Daily
November 8, 2007 - Network Policies Should Be Open, Not Neutral
So it turns out that Comcast is slowing down BitTorrent traffic. The term often used is “rate-limiting.”
In fact there are some claims that Comcast is flat-out blocking the service, but it says it is only rate-limiting, and I believe it. I have had readers contact me to say that they run BitTorrent on Comcast and purposely rate-limit it themselves in order to maintain a low profile. Comcast leaves them alone. Makes sense to me, in the sense that I believe that rate-limiting is basically what’s going on here.
Larry Seltzer, e-Week
November 6, 2007 - A rational debate on Comcast traffic management
The discussion on Comcast actively resetting BitTorrent connections to manage its network for its cable broadband service has gotten hot in recent weeks and there hasn’t been a whole lot of accurate reporting on the subject because of the complexity of the issue. The subject of Net Neutrality has once again surfaced with Comcast’s actions being the latest rallying cry of Internet “discrimination”. This isn’t the first time Comcast was used as an example of Internet discrimination, extremists concocted a story that Comcast was blocking Craigslist when the problem was arguably Craigslist own making all along.
George Ou, ZDNet
November 6, 2007 - Democrats: Taxing and Regulating the Internet
The Democratic majority in Congress is up to their old tricks — taxing and regulating. Democratic leaders are blocking legislation that would stop new and discriminatory taxes on the Internet. There has been a moratorium on such taxes on the Internet since the 1990s when the Republicans were running Congress. But Democrats like taxes and they see new taxes on the Internet as a potential gold mine. Just remember, however, the gold Democrats want to mine will come from your pockets.
George C. Landrith, Frontiers of Freedom
November 1, 2007 - VIEWPOINT : Dorgan should rethink ‘net neutrality’
Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., is a study in contradictions. A proponent of Internet regulation - or Net neutrality - on the one hand, Dorgan has made repeated calls of late for more government control of the Internet. On the other hand, he’s secured federal funds to help his constituents benefit from the latest Internet advances, such as telemedicine and distance learning. These applications that have flourished because they are not encumbered by bureaucracy and red tape.
David McClure, Grand Forks Herald
October 15, 2007 - Neutrality Rules Would Cripple Media Industry, Says Viacom CEO
Viacom was “reluctantly drawn” to sue Google’s YouTube, but won’t shirk regulatory and legislative battles involving copyright, including net neutrality, CEO Philippe Dauman made clear Monday. In a keynote to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit, Dauman said Viacom’s rising revenue from digital content, pegged at $500 million this year, was besieged by free online alternatives that made its licensed partners reconsider whether to keep paying.
Greg Piper, Communications Daily
October 3, 2007 - Netting “Net Neutrality”
America’s future economic success rests on the broadband investments of today. Economists project universal broadband deployment could add 1.2 million jobs and $500 billion to the U.S. economy. North American telecommunications companies will invest an estimated $70 billion in 2007 alone to build access and infrastructure. Despite our efforts, the U.S. lags the world in broadband access, ranking behind 14 other nations in per capita broadband subscribers.
Dan Hesse
September 10, 2007 - Justice Department Filing
The Department of Justice believes the “FCC should be highly skeptical of calls to substitute special economic regulation of the Internet for free and open competition enforced by the antitrust laws. Marketplace restrictions proposed by some proponents of ‘net neutrality’ could in fact prevent, rather than promote, optimal investment and innovation in the Internet, with significant negative effects for the economy and consumers.”
September 7, 2007 - Justice Department Nixes Net Neutrality
The Justice Department said imposing a Net neutrality regulation could hamper development of the Internet and prevent service providers from upgrading or expanding their networks. It could also shift the “entire burden of implementing costly network expansions and improvements onto consumers,” the agency said in its filing. Such a result could diminish or delay network expansion and improvement, it added.
CBSnews.com
September 7, 2007 - Net neutrality hopes hit by DoJ criticism
The US Department of Justice threw its weight behind telecommunications operators on Thursday, warning telecom regulators against imposing so-called ‘net neutrality’ rules that would block carriers from charging content providers premium prices to prioritise some web traffic.
Financial Times
September 6, 2007 - Net Neutrality Could Kill ‘E-Health’ Plans
For years, we’ve been hearing about the need for a tech-savvier American health care system that could make paper health records, prescriptions, X-rays and even in-person checkups into relics. But all of that could be derailed unless U.S. policymakers reject calls for so-called Net neutrality regulations - “one-size-fits-all” broadband service that places critical medical monitoring and health care on the same footing as noncritical communications, according to new report by the U.S. Internet Industry Association (USIIA).
National Center for Policy Analysis
August 16, 2007 - Trade group: More government action needed on e-health
ISP trade group, U.S. Internet Industry Association (USIIA), calls for lawmakers to avoid passing net neutrality laws as a way to help electronic-health initiatives move forward. USIIA believes E-health and telemedicine applications will need to have priority routing over broadband networks in order to function properly
Grant Gross of PC World, Washington Post
August 16, 2007 - Attack of the Show
Hands Off the Internet Co-Chair Chris Wolf talking about Net Neutrality and the Pearl Jam incident. (Video)
G4tv.com
August 13, 2007
Video - FCC Net Neutrality Inquiry Stirs Harsh Debate
Net neutrality proponents, and especially Google, have not given “concrete reasons” for such regulation, Hands Off the Internet told the FCC Monday. The filing responded to comments last month (CD June 18 p2). The FCC is asking if it should subject networks to neutrality rules. “There is no current or likely market condition that [opponents] can point to justify new regulations,” the group said. “Proponents rely… on conjecture, speculation and hypocritical assertions to suggest that the marketplace, notwithstanding the extraordinary success… of the Internet, must now be regulated in order to ensure consumers will be protected from non-existent harms.”
Communications Daily
July 17, 2007 - Neutralizing our online future
RECENTLY in Sacramento, some lawmakers have been flirting with the latest fad idea about regulating the Internet — the so-called “net neutrality” rules. The corporate giants pushing the proposal — Internet companies like Google and eBay — say that the rules are needed to prevent broadband providers like the telephone and cable companies from blocking access to or discriminating against certain Web sites.
Oakland Tribune
July 16, 2007 - Hundreds weigh in on Net neutrality
July 16, 2007 (IDG News Service) Hundreds of groups and individual Internet users sounded off to the Federal Communications Commission on Net neutrality in comments filed Monday, the deadline for responding to the agency’s inquiry into the proposed regulation.
IDG News Service
July 16, 2007 - Reply Comments of Hands Off the Internet to the FCC
Hands Off The Internet, the nationwide coalition supporting growth of the Internet for the benefit of consumers, highlights in these Reply Comments how, as anticipated, the proponents of Net Neutrality regulation uniformly have failed in their opening Comments to provide any concrete reasons why such regulation is needed or why the present legal and regulatory framework, combined with the dynamics of a competitive marketplace, are not sufficient protection.
July 16, 2007 - FTC Issues Staff Report on Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy
The Federal Trade Commission’s Internet Access Task Force today issued a report, “Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy,” which summarizes the Task Force’s findings in the area of broadband Internet connectivity and, in particular, so-called network neutrality regulation. Based on these findings, and FTC staff’s experience with the operation of myriad markets throughout the economy, the report identifies guiding principles that policy makers should consider in evaluating proposed regulations or legislation relating to broadband Internet access and network neutrality.
Federal Trade Commision
June 27, 2007 - Manufacturers Cool to Net Neutrality Measures
Telephone and cable companies have been the most vocal opponents of network neutrality, and the telecom manufacturing sector has begun to add its voice to the debate. They fear investment, innovation, and growth in the sector will suffer if Congress forces carriers to operate so-called neutral networks.
Steven Titch, The Heartland Institute
July 1, 2007 - Net neutrality overreach
The battle over “net neutrality” and “open access” — two catchy labels that, in reality, both mean traditional public utility regulation — is moving from the ground to the air. Until recently, net neutrality and open access advocates have focused on getting Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to adopt new government regulations that would prohibit wireline broadband Internet service providers, such as Verizon, Comcast or AT&T, from “discriminating” against unaffiliated content providers.
Randolph J. May, Washington Times
June 23, 2007
- State Telecom Activities
Maine Gov. John Baldacci (R) signed legislation (LD- 1675) directing the state Office of Public Advocate to monitor federal and state activity relating to Internet network neutrality and report periodically on how this activity might affect Maine residents’ ability to access Internet content. The agency also would monitor Maine’s programs to expand broadband service. Its first report will be filed with the legislature in February 2008….
Communications Daily
June 22, 2007 - Net Neutrality Rules Harmful, Commenters Tell FCC
Net neutrality rules would harm consumers and thwart competition, according to a preliminary review of groups’ responses to the FCC’s call for comments on whether network access rules are needed. Most groups responding were telecom-related businesses, free-market advocacy organizations and trade associations. All said imposition of regulation would hinder development of the next-generation Internet and contended there’s no need for the rules since current govt. regulations can punish any discriminatory behavior.
Communications Daily
June 18, 2007 - Net neutrality: Which side should showbiz be on?
…Mike McCurry, co-chair of the anti-Net neutrality group Hands Off the Internet, says today’s Internet is actually the problem at the center of the issue. “The Internet we enjoy today bears no resemblance to the Internet we’re going to need three to five years from now,” says the former chief spokesman for the Bill Clinton White House.
Variety
June 18,2007
- Internet Content Providers Urge the FCC Not to Regulate the Net
WASHINGTON, June 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Three Internet content and application service providers filed formal comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Notice of Inquiry today urging the Commission not to regulate the Internet by adopting network neutrality rules. The Internet content providers, MovieFlix, Doctors TeleHealth Network, and KinderStart differ from some other content providers who think the government needs to adopt network neutrality regulations.
Broadcast Newsroom
June 15, 2007 - CAGW Counsels FCC: Hands Off the Internet
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) released a copy of the letter it sent to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Kevin Martin, urging the FCC not to impose regulations on the Internet.
PNN Online
June 14,2007
- McCain Opposes Net Neutrality
Arizona Sen. John McCain has announced that he opposes “net neutrality.” McCain appeared at the All Things Digital conference in Carlsbad, Calif., and said he did not think government regulation of internet service providers to stop them from censoring, slowing down, or otherwise disrupting consumer’s access to the internet in order to stifle competitors or undesirable content was an appropriate solution. “When you control the pipe you should be able to get profit from your investment,” he said, according to TheDailyBackground.com. Later, McCain said: “I’m all for the government encouraging competition, but I’ve found over time that less government involvement is better. “Unless there is a clear-cut, unequivocal restraint of competition, the government should stay out of it,” McCain said. “These things will sort themselves out.”
NewsMax.com
June 3,2007
- Broadband: Net Neutrality Group Missing Some Key Backers
Amazon.com, Microsoft and Yahoo have not joined a new coalition of companies and associations fighting for Internet regulation, the latest indication that some early supporters of the concept may be distancing themselves from it.
David Hatch, Technology Daily
May 24, 2007
- NY: Don’t Neutralize Franchise Reform
New York is doing the right thing for consumers by deregulating video services, increasing competition and consumer choice. So why in the world would Albany consider doing the exact opposite when it comes to Internet service — imposing new Internet regulations that could dry up investment dollars and stifle competition? Legislation is pending in both the Assembly and the Senate that would streamline the franchising process so that Verizon and other new entrants don’t have to negotiate franchise agreements on a slow and expensive town by town basis.
Philip Kerpen, New York Sun
May 17, 2007
- CompTIA Says Maine Net Neutrality Bill Would Dumb Down Internet
CompTIA warns that a state bill would “heavily regulate innovative broadband services and keep computing technology companies, as well as Internet users, in the dark ages.” A computing industry trade group warns that a bill in the Maine legislature would leave the state’s citizens with a “dumb, slower” Internet.
K.C. Jones, InformationWeek
May 15, 2007 - How to Block Broadband
The Internet is to modern America what the post office was to the original United States. But whereas Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the Constitution entrusted exclusive authority over the Postal Service to Congress, the Internet is threatened with flank attacks by a cluster of states under the banner of “network neutrality.”
Bruce Fein, Legal Times
May 14, 2007 - Missing: Politicians who take a clear stand on tech
Net neutrality became one the hottest political flashpoints in the last year. But in what might seem to be an odd omission, both Republicans and Democrats studiously ignored it this week when touting their technology agendas for 2007.
Declan McCullagh, CNet.com
April 27, 2007 - Net Neutrality Reality Means Internet Mediocrity
Over the past year, legislators in Congress and, more recently, in states such as Maryland, Maine and California, have been calling for laws guaranteeing “network neutrality.” Net neutrality laws would prevent service providers from using their own network resources to improve the quality or reliability of increasingly popular Internet applications such as movie downloads and multiplayer games.
Steven Titch, Reason Foundation
April 19, 2007 - Activists Make Net Neutrality Appeals To Lawmakers
Grassroots activists are increasing their lobbying efforts in Congress for legislation to prohibit high-speed Internet network operators from charging premium rates to certain content providers.
National Journal’s Technology Daily
April 10, 2007 - The Human Face of Net Neutrality
When Gary Maricle retired from the broadcast business, he launched a new career selling New Mexico chili over the Internet. Selling online allowed him to compete with bigger outlets, since he couldn’t afford to “build brick-and-mortar stores all over the nation.”
Jeanne Cummings
April 9, 2007 - Carrier groups oppose spectrum auction proposal
Representatives of large broadband and wireless carriers have voiced opposition to a proposal from consumer groups that would impose open access and net neutrality conditions on a spectrum auction next year.
Grant Gross, The Washington Post
April 7, 2007 - FCC Launches Net Neutrality Study
Net Neutrality has been a hot topic in the media as well as the IT industry as of late. The issue being discussed is whether or not Internet service providers (ISPs) should be allowed to control how their bandwidth is used by content providers and users and what is actually allowed to pass through their network.
Tuan Nguyen, Daily Tech
March 29, 2007 - Inquiring Minds Are Skeptical Of Neutrality Inquiry
An FCC inquiry into the heated debate over whether the government should regulate telecommunications and cable giants that control high-speed Internet lines has sparked accusations from critics that the proceeding is designed to fail.
David Hatch, National Journal’s Technology Daily
March 29, 2007
- Not neutrality
Net neutrality, an issue generating debate in U.S. regulatory arenas, could be coming big time to Canada soon. Firms such as Google and eBay are pushing for regulation of potential rivals. This is a classic case of political “rent seeking,” with unpredictable consequences for both consumers and its chief advocates.
Hal Singer, Financial Post
March 29, 2007 - Lobbying
The Tuesday launch of a coalition of musicians supporting legislation to keep high-speed Internet network operators from charging content providers premium rates failed to impress some of their opponents in the network neutrality debate.
National Journal’s Technology Daily
March 28, 2007 - Net Neutrality Simmers at VON
In moderating a panel at Spring VON 2007 last week, Blair Levin’s goal was to get panelists to bring something new to the Net neutrality debate. That may not be possible at this stage, but the managing director of Stifel, Nicolaus and Co. did push all the right buttons as panelists on both sides did their best to maintain composure and stay below the boiling point.
Telephony
March 26, 2007 - The Illusion of Net Neutrality
A short distance from the West End theater where “The History Boys” is still playing, a group of British parliamentarians and other decision makers recently gathered to consider the deceptively-labeled issue of “Net neutrality.” In the United States, under that clever but misleading rubric, calls have been made for the first-ever heavy regulation of and restrictions on broadband providers. The calls arise out of fears of hypothetical content and access discrimination by the cable, telephone and other companies that link consumers to the Internet.
Christopher Wolf, International Herald Tribune
March 23, 2007 - FCC Looking At Issue Of Net Neutrality
In mid-2005, a U.S. Supreme Court decision and a Federal Communications Commission ruling basically deregulated how phone and cable companies handle broadband Internet traffic. Video, music, e-mail, Web browsing and voice transmissions all continue to move freely and equally across the pipes the telecom and cable companies own. But soon after the rulings, phone company executives began talking about creating a tiered program of paid access to the Internet.
Investors Business Daily
March 22, 2007 - Is a Neutral Net Anti-Competitive
The “net neutrality” debate is a complicated one (witness Google’s recent twists and turns). Take the very important issue of competition. On the surface, it would seem that those in favor of making net neutrality the law of the land are fighting the good pro-competition fight. By preventing telcos, cable operators, and other pipe owners from giving favorable treatment to certain forms of data - allowing, say, video from TV studios to flow faster than video from amateurs - a net-neutrality law would keep the playing field level for the little guys.
Rough Type
March 22, 2007 - A monkey hanger’s guide to Net Neutrality
Good morning. For seven years, until last year, I reported from Silicon Valley - I’ve reported on this issue on both sides of the Atlantic. It’s one of the strangest, and perhaps the most interesting, stories I’ve encountered in 15 years of technology journalism. I write for The Register, which is a successful British internet business, with four million readers and over 30 staff. Because we’re a pure internet business, and a pure content business, the fears of “Neutrality” campaigners affect us more than anyone else. We have no print publications or conferencing franchise to fall back on. Our bits must get through! So vertical integration abuse - discrimination and pricing - affect our bottom line. But are these fears rational?
The Register
March 21, 2007 - Net Neutrality Debate Hits the UK: So what?
We’ve been hearing about it in the U.S. press on a regular basis for about a year now and it definitely picked up pace before the elections there last November. Now the trend of debating the issue of Net Neutrality has hit the UK. But like most American imports, the British seem rather underwhelmed by it.
OfcomWatch
March 21, 2007 - Google Snubs Net Neutrality Debate
The first significant Net Neutrality debate to take place in the UK was held today at Westminster. Chaired by former trade minister Alun Michael and the Conservative shadow trade minister Charles Hendry, the event attracted the chief Telecoms regulator and ministry policy chief, a clutch of industry representatives, and a sprinkling of members of both houses.
The Register
March 20, 2007 - UK Regulators “Relaxed” on Net Neutrality
Speaking at a Westminster e-Forum on the topic on Tuesday, Ofcom’s director of policy development, Dougal Scott, told delegates that “the European regulatory framework allows us to deal with any issues that may arise”.
ZDNet UK
March 20, 2007 - Honourable Members Consider Net Neutrality
The first major debate on net neutrality before members of the British Parliament was held today, and more or less elicited yawns all around.
The Navel of the Internet
March 20, 2007 - Net Neutrality Debate Remains Contentious
Net neutrality is so contentious that many people debating it cannot even agree on a definition. Traditional allies and foes have rearranged themselves to form strange new alliances and divisions. Even the founders of the Internet and the World Wide Web — including some who worked alongside each other — are at odds over how to move forward.
InformationWeek
March 16, 2007 - Network Neutrality: Avoiding a Net Loss
For more than a year, the issue of network neutrality has taken up a tremendous amount of time and attention in both Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley. In fact, it may be the single most engrossing subject currently tying together policy interests in these two distinct parts of the country. Unfortunately, one key constituency often seems left out of this heated debate: the Internet consumer. This oversight is striking since it is end users who, each day, rely on the Internet to conduct their work and personal lives. What policies should be enacted to ensure their maximum choice and flexibility? Consumer empowerment is where the debate should begin — and end.
Tech News World
March 14, 2007 - Is Google Changing its Position on Net Neutrality?
Is Google, the foremost corporate advocate of net neutrality, doing a big fake? Have they succeeded in making everyone believe they will stand up to the Bell companies, even as the company cuts deals to become the preferred provider on a carrier’s network? It sure sounds like it, listening to some recent public comments from one of the company’s top policy execs.
GigaOM
March 13, 2007 - Hot Internet debate over ‘net neutrality’
Richard Hall has one pipe to the World Wide Web from his home in a rural area near Rolla, Mo., and he’s asking his representative in Congress to make sure no one clogs it. Hall, an information science professor at the University of Missouri-Rolla, didn’t type and mail his missive to Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau. Instead, he recorded his thoughts on a video, posted it on the Internet and sent Emerson a link. “All this rests on the principle of network neutrality,” Hall concluded.
St. Louis Post Dispatch
March 10, 2007 - New Phoenix Center Study Shows That Net Neutrality Proposals Would Hurt Consumers, Content Providers, and Network Operators
A new study released today by the Phoenix Center finds that “Network Neutrality” regulation that blocks broadband service providers and Internet content providers from certain types of service agreements could mean higher prices for consumers, reduced product development by content providers, and less investment by network operators. According to the study, Internet regulation that forecloses service agreements between broadband service providers and Internet content providers, thereby requiring consumers to arrange for all services and service upgrades, “may increase the full price of broadband access, and consequently reduce the amount of broadband purchased. Importantly, this broadband access price increase will affect all broadband customers — not simply those that might be interested in purchasing new, bandwidth-intensive services.”
PR Newswire
March 6, 2007 - Legal brain opposes net-neutrality legislation at FTC workshop
The Federal Trade Commission on Feb. 14 hosted the “Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy” public workshop in Washington, with panel speakers addressing various telecom issues. Christopher Wolf, an attorney with Proskauer Rose LLP, Washington, and co-chair of public policy advocacy group Hands Off the Internet, spoke on the net-neutrality panel about the dangers of regulating the Internet. His speech was titled “What Framework Best Promotes Competition and Consumer Welfare?”
DMNews
February 15, 2007 - Information Super Traffic Jam
A new assessment from Deloitte & Touche predicts that global traffic will exceed the Internet’s capacity as soon as this year. Why? The rapid growth in the number of global Internet users, combined with the rise of online video services and the lack of investment in new infrastructure. If Deloitte’s predictions are accurate, the traffic on many Internet backbones could slow to a crawl this year absent substantial new infrastructure investments and deployment.
Forbes
January 31, 2007 - Hold Off On Net Neutrality
The current Internet supports many popular and valuable services. But experts agree that an updated Internet could offer a wide range of new and improved services, including better security against viruses, worms, denial-of-service attacks and zombie computers; services that require high levels of reliability, such as medical monitoring; and those that cannot tolerate network delays, such as voice and streaming video. To provide these services, both the architecture of the Internet and the business models through which services are delivered will probably have to change.
David Farber and Michael Katz, Washington Post
January 19, 2007 - Father of internet warns against Net Neutrality
Robert Kahn, the most senior figure in the development of the internet, has delivered a strong warning against “Net Neutrality” legislation.
Andrew Orlowski, The Register
January 18, 2007 - Oh, What a Tangled Web Google Weaves
By now it is well known that the web search company Google is behind the massive “net neutrality” campaign. Based on the fear that consumers will be harmed if telecom and cable companies negotiate preferential arrangements to certain customers, the net neutrality campaign seeks legislation and regulation that would reduce Internet providers to a “dumb pipes” existence and would preclude them trying to provide value-added services to their customers.
Institute for Policy Innovation - Notebaert right about ‘neutrality’
Qwest CEO Dick Notebaert didn’t mince words when asked on Thursday about attempts in Congress to set up speed traps in cyberspace. And we hope that he can get a sympathetic hearing from enough lawmakers, and even President Bush, so that the confining vision of “net neutrality” does not become federal policy.
Rocky Mountain News
January 13, 2007 - Network Neutrality Critics Say If Net Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
Opponents of network neutrality are criticising a bill introduced this week by Senators Olympia Snowe, (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.).
iT News
By K.C. Jones
January 12, 2007 - Qwest CEO: Net neutrality not necessary
Qwest Communications International Inc. CEO Dick Notebaert said the push for legislators and regulators to impose stricter net neutrality laws on carriers has the potential to turn the nation’s “long-standing communications model on its head.”
The Denver Business Journal
Bob Mook
January 11, 2007 - David Holcberg: It’s a Free Market for All
“Net neutrality” is an idea that has no place in a free market. Cable and phone companies have no obligation to treat all Internet traffic equally. If these companies judge it to be in their self-interest to sell speedier delivery to certain content providers, they should be free to do so.
New York Times
January 8, 2007 - Alfred E. Kahn: Congress Should Go Slow on Net Neutrality
The advocates of network neutrality have become distressingly, stridently apocalyptic, rallying all good liberals against (the following is a fair composite quote): “Those with the deepest pockets … corporations, special-interest groups, major advertisers, and especially the billion-dollar telephone and cable companies that now dominate the business of providing broadband connections to the public–who want to control what you read, see, or hear online would be able to pay the new fees, while little-guy sites could be shut out.”
The Heartland Institute
December 1, 2006 - Thomas M. Lenard: Vista, Open Access and Net Neutrality
I supported the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case against Microsoft, because I thought the evidence of its anticompetitive behavior was compelling. But I always opposed remedies that would turn Microsoft into a public utility and subject it to common carrier regulation.
The Progress & Freedom Foundation
November 2006 - Mike McCurry and Christopher Wolf: Letter to the Editor
With America lagging behind Asia and Europe in high-speed Internet options, the worst thing Congress could do is burden Net users with costly “neutrality” regulations. The Internet’s transformation from a simple system for e-mail to an entertainment medium of video, phone and teleconferencing has produced surging bandwidth demands that will be met only through vast (and expensive) upgrades to America’s communications system. Neutrality regulations will be even more costly and add bureaucratic delay to the Internet’s expansion. Even proponents of neutrality like Google, Amazon and eBay will rue the day they asked the government to micromanage the Web’s underlying technologies.
Newsweek
October 23, 2006 - Mike McCurry and Christopher Wolf: ‘Neutrality’ Regulations Would Inhibit Internet
Google, other large companies, should pay for deploying networks needed for large capacity
The [Iowa] Telegraph Herald
October 8, 2006 - Mike McCurry, Christopher Wolf: Don’t force the Internet into one pipe
INTERNET providers want to spend billions of dollars to speed up and expand the connections between consumers’ homes and the Internet backbone — to deliver video, specialized online services, and a faster, better Internet. And they want to do this without shifting the entire cost onto the consumers.
Providence Journal
July 18, 2006 - ‘Net neutrality’ would stifle innovation
Everyone is struggling with how to portray the fight over Internet access - known as the “network neutrality” debate - in a way that makes some sense. To a degree, the complex debate over “net neutrality” - the argument over whether Internet providers should be permitted to charge fees in exchange for preferential access to online consumers - can be sorted out by the players.
Arizona Republic Editorial
June 26, 2006 - Could this be why Google wants net neutrality? (PDF)
Google is innovating, and that’s good. But when Google asks Congress to stop their competitors from innovating, that’s wrong. Net neutrality isn’t sounding very neutral anymore.
Advertisement
June 22, 2006 - The Internet’s Future
THE SENATE will hold hearings tomorrow on “net neutrality,” the idea that the pipes and wires that form the Internet should treat all content equally. An alliance whose membership ranges from the Christian Coalition to MoveOn.org is demanding that Congress write this neutrality into law; the groups fear that the pipe owners — cable companies, phone companies and so on — might otherwise deliver corporate content at high speed for high fees, while consigning political Web sites and hobbyists to a slow information byway.
The Washington Post Editorial
June 12, 2006 - The Web’s Worst New Idea
If ever there was a solution in search of a problem, “Net neutrality” is it. Sometime recently, someone got up on the wrong side of bed and decided that the freedom that has been the hallmark of the Internet now threatens to destroy it.
The Wall Street Journal Editorial
May 18, 2006 - Hardware Firms Oppose Net Neutrality Laws
The political debate in Washington over the concept known as Net neutrality just became a lot more complicated. Some of the largest hardware makers in the world, including 3M, Cisco, Corning and Qualcomm, sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday firmly opposing new laws mandating Net neutrality–the concept that broadband providers must never favor some Web sites or Internet services over others.
by Declan McCullagh, CNet.com
May 17, 2006 - What Congress is Learning About ‘Net Neutrality’
High schoolers might want to plan now for a career in telecom lobbying. Don’t worry. Nothing will be solved by the time you have waded through college and graduate school. Take your time. Oh, and drop a note of thanks to Google, eBay, Amazon, Microsoft, Intel, etc.
by Holman Jenkins, The Wall Street Journal
May 17, 2006 - Not So Fast on Network Neutrality
Net neutrality — the idea that everybody should be equal in cyberspace — has gained momentum as a populist movement but seems no closer to becoming law. A House committee recently rejected a Democrat-led effort to legislate the principle, and a current Republican-sponsored draft telecommunications bill mostly avoids the subject.
The Oregonian
May 15, 2006 - High-Def Could Choke Internet, ISPs Fear
Every day, it seems, a new service pops up offering to send you video over the Internet. “Desperate Housewives,” Stephen Colbert heckling the president, clips of bad dancers at wedding parties: It’s all there. You may be up for it, but is the Internet?
by Peter Svensson, Associated Press
May 14, 2006 - Google, Microsoft Push for “Net Neutrality” Law (Audio)
Google and Microsoft are urging Congress to pass a law that would prohibit operators of high-speed internet services from prioritizing certain types of traffic — such as online video — over others.
by Xeni Jardin, NPR
May 10, 2006 - Online Movies, Video at Heart of Net Neutrality
The debate over Internet neutrality is about control of the Web’s next holy grail: online movies and television, and the billions in revenue they will generate.
by Mark Boslett and Carmen Fleetwood, Dow Jones News Wire
May 10, 2006
- Net Diversity Threatened by Network Neutrality
Net neutrality proponents are ultimately pushing for a uniform system of old-style regulation on a currently vibrant medium. That is, by trying to make broadband network providers treat everyone in the same manner, neutrality proponents call for a regime that Precursor analyst Scott Cleland labels “sameness.”
by Sonia Arrison, Tech News World
May 5, 2006 - Pundits Discuss the Internet’s Future
The Wall Street Journal Online invited Web pioneer Vint Cerf and tech pundit Esther Dyson to discuss what they expect in the next 10 years. Mr. Cerf envisions an interplanetary network, while Ms. Dyson ponders a loss of privacy and an information glut. Their conversation, carried out by email, is below.
The Wall Street Journal
May 4, 2006 - Net Neutrality and Politics
Zoe Lofgren, representative of the 16th district of California (the region that contains Silicon Valley), recently wrote an article for ZDNet where she defended net neutrality rules as a means of preventing broadband companies from acting as gatekeepers to the Internet…Broadband providers, most notably AT&T, aren’t suggesting that they will “control what we access over the Internet.” Rather, they are saying that some content may be given “fast track” access into the home, access to which is contingent on a fee paid either by the provider of content or the consumer.
by John Carroll, ZDNet
May 4, 2006 - No Need Now for Net Neutrality Regulation
Here’s a proposed solution to the current debate over new network-neutrality regulations: How about let’s do nothing — at least not now?
by Tom Giavanetti, The Hill
May 3, 2006 - Catching the Web in a Net of Neutrality
Imagine a world in which millions of senior citizens and disabled Americans, among others, can have, if they want, their medical conditions monitored continuously by devices that communicate over high speed, broadband networks that can automatically alert them if they require immediate medical attention.
by Robert Litan, The Washington Post
May 2, 2006 - It is Too Soon To Impose Net Neutrality
There are few more enticing visions than that of the free and equal internet. Instead of a central authority or company deciding what anybody can put on a website or offer as a service, anything goes. Almost as remarkable is the way that the internet - or the way that most people experience it - has steadily sped up.
by John Gapper, Financial Times
April 30, 2006 - Democrats Lose House Vote on Net Neutrality
A hotly contested Democratic bid to enshrine extensive Net neutrality regulations in the law books failed Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives.
by Declan McCullagh, CNet
April 26, 2006 - MySpace: Protecting Kids Online
MySpace.com is the online social networking Web site that has become a phenomenon among
kids. But some of those cool kids have used their 15 megabits of fame to post risqué pictures and to
feature racist, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic content.
by Christopher Wolf, Forbes
April 25, 2006
Adobe PDF document - Manufacturers’ Letter to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
Manufacturers’ Letter to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
April 25, 2006
Adobe PDF document - Net Neutrality: A Primer for the Rightosphere
San Francisco, like a number of other cities, is working to build municipal Wi-Fi. It has not been done successfully to date, and the jury is still out on whether any city will have a functioning system that the citizens want.
April 24, 2006 - ‘Hands Off’ Rx Best for the Internet
Today, policymakers are being pressured into thinking about “prophylactic regulation” of the Internet, just as the Internet has blossomed into the medium we all had hoped for. Hypochondriacs on the sidelines are hectoring Congress to force unnecessary medicine on the Internet under the rubric “regulated network neutrality.”
by Chris Wolf and Mike McCurry, The Washington Times
April 21, 2006 - TeleCONSENSUS Letter to the House Judiciary Committee on Net Neutrality
TeleCONSENSUS Letter to the House Judiciary Committee on Net Neutrality
Adobe PDF Document
April 6, 2006 - Network Neutrality Speech
Within the current funding and construction approach to networks, I believe a network neutrality law is a tactical, practical, strategic and philosophical error. It takes us further away from Freedom to Connect.
by Martin Geddes, Telepocalypse
April 3, 2006
- TeleCONSENSUS Letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Net Neutrality
TeleCONSENSUS Letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Net Neutrality
Adobe PDF Document
April 3, 2006
- Conservative Coalition Sends Letter on Telecom;
Calls for more pro-market reforms in new legislation.
As members of the free-market community, we, the undersigned organizations, are encouraged that the latest draft of the telecommunications legislation takes positive, market-oriented steps to offer video service providers an alternative to the burdensome labyrinth of local franchise laws while avoiding regulatory pitfalls such as mandated access, rate regulation, and build-out requirements…
by Matt Kibbe, FreedomWorks
April 3, 2006 - Incorporate Competition Standard in ‘Net Neutrality’
In light of widespread competition in the communications industry, any language addressing network neutrality in the “Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006″ should incorporate an unfair competition standard in order to avoid the likely imposition of a general common carrier obligation on all broadband providers.
Progress and Freedom Foundation
March 30, 2006 - Broadband giants say Net neutrality fears are misguided
In light of widespread competition in the communications industry, any language addressing network neutrality in the “Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006″ should incorporate an unfair competition standard in order to avoid the likely imposition of a general common carrier obligation on all broadband providers.
By Marguerite Reardon, CNet
March 24, 2006 - Disney’s Iger: No Net Neutrality Laws Needed
Walt Disney CEO Robert Iger weighed in on the network neutrality debate Monday with an opinion guaranteed to please his hosts here at the TelecomNext show — in that he doesn’t think any new legislation is needed.
By Paul Kapustka Networking Pipeline
March 20, 2006 - Neutering the net
The legendary Vint Cerf, co-creator of the Internet Protocol (IP) standard in the 1970s, is pleading for “network neutrality.” Cerf, now Google’s chief internet evangelist, argues for government regulation to ensure that broadband subscribers can use any network application or device, without extra fees.
By Thomas W. Hazlett, Financial Times
March 20, 2006
- TIA to Congress: Net Neutrality Rules Are Not Necessary at this Time
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), the leading trade association for the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, has taken a position on the “net neutrality” debate now before Congress.
By Patrick Barnard, TMCnet Associate Editor
March 17, 2006 - Regulation in Brief: Network Neutrality
At first glance, “network neutrality” may seem an unobjectionable principle. Who, after all, would want their telephone company to keep them from accessing CNN.com, or force them to use one the provider owns? However, in practice, no major operator has ever blocked sites, and likely never will.
Heritage Foundation Backgrounder
March 13, 2006 - The Eden Illusion
At first glance, “network neutrality” may seem an unobjectionable principle. Who, after all, would want their telephone company to keep them from accessing CNN.com, or force them to use one the provider owns? However, in practice, no major operator has ever blocked sites, and likely never will.
The Washington Post Editorial
March 13, 2006 - Net Neutrality: Video Dialtone Redux?
Considering some recent net neutrality proposals, not-so-old-timers may recall some not-so-ancient history. Similar principles were set out at the dawn of the Internet, and then again at the sunset of telco ambitions to enter cable-style video delivery service. What lessons can we learn from such artifacts as video dialtone?
by Solveig Singleton, Progress and Freedom Foundation
March 10, 2006 - It’s up to Silicon Valley to choose
Recently, there’s been a lot of chatter about the openness of the Internet being under attack. While the Net is indeed facing a threat, it’s not the one that some pundits make it out to be.
By Sonia Arrison, CNet
February 9, 2006 - Hey Baby Bells and Cable: We Need Multiple Tiers of Service
Sure, new bandwidth is being added on networks every day. But guess what, our ability to consume bandwidth is growing far, far faster than the speed at which it is being added. Call it digital gravity. The bigger and more powerful our PCs become, the more specialized processors that are enabled with internet connectivity, the more bandwidth we all consume.
by Mark Cuban
January 15, 2006 - Beware the Double Definitions of ‘Network Neutrality’
Internet Protocol Television, or IPTV, is on the cusp of taking off and providing real competition for the clunky and expensive cable system that makes American video entertainment so pathetic. In order to provide this service, the networks require upgrades, and the upgrades only happen if investors believe that it is worth their while to fund them.
By Sonia Arrison, TechNewsWorld
January 10, 2006
Hands off the Internet
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Arlington, VA 22203-0840
1 (800) 619-5268
www.handsoff.org
Contact | Privacy Policy
Post Office Box 3840
Arlington, VA 22203-0840
1 (800) 619-5268
www.handsoff.org
Contact | Privacy Policy