Hoping for net neutrality
January 11th 2007 04:45
I saw that the Democrats plan to introduce (or re-introduce) bills ensuring net neutrality. This issue came up in the news last week when AT&T had to make some concessions peripherally related to net neutrality in order for the FCC to approve AT&T's takeover of BellSouth. In an article outlining the AT&T decision, it describes net neutrality and the positions on both sides of the argument:
While the Republicans were loathe to regulate or even acknowledge the need for net neutrality, the Democrats have sided with the average consumer on this issue. Thankfully, they plan to move forward with bills to ensure net neutrality:
And in the House:
This is great news. If the big pipeline providers are allowed to start differentiating internet traffic, most of us average users would be relegated to the "slow lanes" of the internet and our level of service and performance would drop dramatically (imagine a six-lane interstate where 90% of the cars are crammed into a single right-hand lane). Ensuring net neutrality will head off yet another money-grab by the AT&T's of the world that would further widen the chasm between the have's and have-not's.
On this issue, the Democrats are right on the mark and they should be encouraged to keep up this fight until net neutrality for all internet users is guaranteed.
Net neutrality is the idea that network operators such as AT&T and Verizon should be prohibited from prioritizing any content or services that travel across their pipes. Ever since telecommunications executives began warning more than a year ago that they should have the right to charge extra for premium placement on their networks, Internet companies and consumer groups have been clamoring for federal regulations barring such a practice. They argue that it threatens users' freedoms. Opponents of regulations say there's no evidence of a discrimination problem and that new rules would stifle innovation.
While the Republicans were loathe to regulate or even acknowledge the need for net neutrality, the Democrats have sided with the average consumer on this issue. Thankfully, they plan to move forward with bills to ensure net neutrality:
(US Sen. Ron) Wyden, who authored the first and perhaps most aggressive Net neutrality bill to emerge last year, hopes to reintroduce his bill in similar form this January
And in the House:
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., plans to reintroduce an identical version of his Network Neutrality Act, though a representative said a timetable had not been set yet.
This is great news. If the big pipeline providers are allowed to start differentiating internet traffic, most of us average users would be relegated to the "slow lanes" of the internet and our level of service and performance would drop dramatically (imagine a six-lane interstate where 90% of the cars are crammed into a single right-hand lane). Ensuring net neutrality will head off yet another money-grab by the AT&T's of the world that would further widen the chasm between the have's and have-not's.
On this issue, the Democrats are right on the mark and they should be encouraged to keep up this fight until net neutrality for all internet users is guaranteed.
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