Net neutrality: who owns the internet? who should pay?
Sunday, August 27th, 2006Current Mood:
Alarmed
Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the Internet’s First Amendment — a principle called Network Neutrality that prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast from deciding which Web sites work best for you — based on what site pays them the most. If the public doesn’t speak up now, our elected officials will cave to a multi-million dollar lobbying campaign.
Tell Congress to reject the telephone and cable companies’ power grab–and stand up for a free and open Internet
http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=dmwtn&hotissue=3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality
Columbia University law professor Tim Wu popularized the phrase network neutrality as a term designating a network that does not favor one application (for example the World Wide Web) over another (such as online gaming or Voice over IP).[1] Wu claims that the Internet is not neutral “as among all applications” as it favors file transfer over real-time communication.
Network neutrality also designates a contemporary controversy mostly local to the United States regarding the role that government should take relative to Internet access providers providing multiple levels of service for different fees. This controversy, which emerged following regulatory developments in the United States, is extremely complex, as it mixes technical, economic, ideological and legal arguments. In essence, network neutrality regulations proposed by Senators Snowe and Dorgan[4] and Representative Markey bar ISPs from offering Quality of Service enhancements for a fee.
http://www.itsournet.org/2006/08/its_our_net_coalition_reacts_t_1.php
It’s Our Net Coalition Reacts to FTC Chairman Majoras’ Call for a Task Force to Review Net Neutrality
Tue Aug 22, 2006 at 03:24:17
We welcome Chairman Majoras’ examination of Net Neutrality through the newly-formed Internet Access Task Force. We look forward to providing comprehensive input to the task force as it studies this most crucial issue.
We agree that competition is clearly an important issue in the Net Neutrality debate. As consumers know and data from the Federal Communications Commission bears out, more than 99 percent of broadband access is controlled by the phone and cable companies. That does not constitute anything like a competitive market. That is a failed market.
As we’ve said from the beginning of this battle, we do not seek new regulation. We merely ask that Congress reinstate the non-discrimination protections that have always formed the underpinning of last-mile access to the Internet. We trust that the Internet Access Task Force will recognize that Net Neutrality is vital if consumers are to continue to enjoy an open, robust and innovative Internet.
other links:
http://www.handsoff.org/
http://www.dontregulate.org/
http://www.savetheinternet.com/
