Pro Net Competition: Other Voices

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Is the Net Too Neutral?

March 11, 2008 - link >>

Technology Review

Recent FCC hearings pitted network operators and content distributors against each other. But if the two can find a way to collaborate, the Internet will work better for everybody.
By Larry Hardesty
At the end of February, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held a public hearing at Harvard University, investigating claims that the cable giant Comcast had been stifling traffic sent over its network using the popular peer-to-peer file-sharing protocol BitTorrent. Comcast argued that it acted only during periods of severe network congestion, slowing bandwidth-hogging traffic sent by computers that probably didn’t have anyone sitting at them, anyway. But critics countered that Comcast had violated the Internet’s prevailing principle of “Net neutrality,” the idea that network operators should treat all the data packets that travel over their networks the same way.

The Googly Eyed Monster

February 14, 2008 - link >>

Peter Suderman, The American Spectator

When Microsoft recently announced its proposal to acquire Internet search giant Yahoo! for $44 billion, two things were immediately certain. First, consumers would be likely to see enormous potential benefits from a merger between the two companies. Second, bureaucrats, rivals, and Microsoft-haters of all shapes and sizes—but especially those that rhyme with frugal—would do anything they could to slow or stop the deal.

Where there are clouds and lightning one can eventually expect to hear thunder. And behold, Google came booming through the stratosphere, or at least the blogosphere, with carefully-worded but dire warnings. The Chief Legal Officer for the leading search engine weighed in with a lawyerly series of leading questions:

Agency Urges Caution on Net Neutrality

February 10, 2008 - link >>

Associated Press, ABC News

The chairman of the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday recommended against additional regulation of high-speed Internet traffic.

Deborah Platt Majoras said policymakers should proceed cautiously on the issue of “net neutrality,” which is the notion that all online traffic should be treated equally by Internet service providers.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Majoras said that without evidence of “market failure or demonstrated consumer harm, policy makers should be particularly hesitant to enact new regulation in this area.”

In separate remarks before a lawyers’ group Wednesday, Majoras said the agency was unaware of any market failure or consumer harm in the high-speed Internet market, according to a written copy of her speech.

Majoras’ comments provide support for telecommunications companies such as AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp., which oppose so-called net neutrality regulation. They would like the option of charging customers more for transmitting certain content, such as live video, faster or more reliably than other data.

10 Things You Need To Know About Regulation

January 24, 2008 - link >>

Mark Walsh, Media Post Productions

Our lawmakers can barely keep up with the ever-evolving landscape of the Web. Here’s what you need to know right now about regulation:

1. Efforts to legislate Net neutrality appeared all but dead this year. But the issue has gained new life from recent developments, including the revelation that Comcast has been actively filtering --and even blocking --its customers’ Internet connections when they are found to be using file-sharing service BitTorrent. 

Perspective: Save Internet freedom--from regulation

December 12, 2007 - link >>

Larry Downes, CNet

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.

If only they would.

The Internet has thrived in large part because it has managed to sidestep a barrage of efforts to regulate it, including laws to ban indecent material, levy sales tax on e-commerce, require Web sites to provide “zoning” tags, and to criminalize spam, file sharing, and spyware. 

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