Net Neutrality In the News
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Oct 15, 2008
New ‘Economic Stimulus’ Plan Includes Universal Broadband Karl Bode, Broadband ReportsAfter already handing out billions in taxpayer dollars to the financial industry, Democrats in Congress are cooking up a new $150 billion economic stimulus plan that would include money for cash-strapped states, but would also include cash for infrastructure upgrades. Nancy Pelosi has compared the package “to Jefferson’s push to build roads and canals, Teddy Roosevelt’s establishment of the national park service and Eisenhower’s interstate highway initiative—with modern day equivalents like universal broadband thrown in,” notes the San Francisco Chronicle. Broadband is usually paid lip service in election seasons then quickly forgotten, so don’t hold your breath.
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Oct 06, 2008
Telecom Deregulation Important for Progress, Experts Say Jim T. Ryan, Red OrbitMost companies would argue that less regulation and more competition are good things for business and consumers.
In some industries, like telecommunications, it’s not that simple to level the playing field.
There are divisions in the telecom world. On one side are the phone companies, large and small providers that draw their roots from the long-gone days of phone mo- nopolies. They have a lot of regula- tions to meet, but until recently, had a guaranteed rate of return.
On the other side are the cablebased services, such as Philadelphiabased Comcast Corp. and Carbon County-based Blue Ridge Communications Inc. They’re considered information companies and are not regulated.
And then there are cellular, or wireless, phone companies that do not face the same regulations as the landline companies but have seen record taxes levied against their industry.
Cutting through it all will take time, but it’s a necessity for progress, technology advocates say. For businesses that buy a lot of media services, deregulation also could lower prices, company executives say.
The cable, phone and wireless sectors are trying to gain an edge in the telecom industry as new technology becomes available and consumers demand more information faster.
The phone companies have pushed hard for state and federal deregulation for years because they see themselves at a disadvantage to the unregulated cable and wireless sectors. They don’twantto go extinct as fewer households buy landlines.
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Oct 06, 2008
Google Calls for Unified Front in Net Neutrality Battle Bob Wallace, xchangeWhat in the world is a top exec from search engine giant Google Inc. (GOOG) doing speaking at a trade association for competitive carriers and ISPs this week?
The answer is actually quite simple.
When the topic is net neutrality/network management, web giants like Google have just as much to gain and lose as traditional service providers — and perhaps more.
“If we all work together to drive a consensus approach on net neutrality to Congress it could help us fuel action that would benefit us in delivering services to our customers without last-mile issues,” said Rick Whitt, Google’s Washington Telecom and Media Counsel. “Whether it’s Covad, Level 3 or Google, we’re all in the same boat.”
He’ll be joined in the session by Jonathan Lee, head of JD Lee Consulting.
“Forging an alliance of public interest groups, CLECs, ISPs and web companies would help the next presidential administration, and others, realize that net neutrality is not just something that popped up a year or two ago. It’s an end game and an environmental condition,” said Whitt.
The former longtime vice president of federal law and policy for MCI believes the combination of a new administration and increasingly heightened interest in net neutrality from Congress could provide a golden opportunity for such an alliance to make a strong case for action.
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Oct 03, 2008
Craigslist founder criticizes telecoms for ‘artificial’ Net neutrality debate Stephanie Condon, CNETFor someone not interested in politics, Craigslist.org founder Craig Newmark spends quite a bit of time these days working with people in Washington.
“Most people, including myself, don’t want to be bothered with politics,” Newmark said Friday at Google’s Washington, D.C., headquarters. “They just want to call 311 to get a pothole fixed.”
Yet as a proponent for policy ideas like Net neutrality and government transparency, Newmark has found himself an unlikely advocate for career lobbyists--just the good kind, though.
While lawmakers should embrace the online tools to make democracy more widespread, he said, industries like telecommunications have to play their part by steering away from deceitful lobbying practices.
“There are some bad actors in the lobbying business, but the vast majority are just people trying to get a fair shake for their clients in the sausage factory,” said Newmark, who belongs to boards for groups like the Sunlight Foundation, which advocates for government transparency.
However, he said industries like telecom, finance, and oil often resort to using “unsavory” lobbying tactics such as fake grassroots--or “Astroturf"--campaigns. Some of those groups have taken aim at Google on issues like Net neutrality.
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Oct 03, 2008
Comcast’s Broadband Usage Cap Won’t Hurt My Mom Dan Costa, PC MagazineComcast put a hard cap on its customer’s Internet usage this week. The average user may be initially shocked to find out you can’t just download—or upload—as much as you want, but the truth is that Comcast’s limits won’t affect the average user—at least not right now. This cap does represent a major shift in the broadband industry, a shift that should concern casual browsers and power users alike. But putting the larger issue of Net neutrality aside for a moment, I just don’t think my mother and I should pay the same rate for Internet usage.
My mom has a cable modem. She hits the Web every day to get news, forward inspirational e-mails, and send me photos of the latest varmint or reptile that has wandered into her backyard in Tucson, Arizona. I doubt she reaches 1MB of data per day.
I have a cable modem too, but my usage looks a lot different. When I’m home, I’m constantly online, blogging, writing, and sending files and high-resolution artwork back and forth to my coworkers here at PCMag.com. I also download music, videos, and podcasts from iTunes, grab old TV shows from BitTorrent, stream movies through Netflix, and I’ve recently started playing Warhawk with others online on my PlayStation 3. All are bandwidth-intensive applications. On a busy weeknight, I could blow through a few gigabytes of traffic, easy. On weekends: much, much more.
No reasonable person would say that my mom and I should pay the same price for our service. It’s a fundamental issue of fairness.
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