January 12, 2007

net neutrality debate re-opens...

not unexpected, senators dorgan (d-sd) and snowe (r-me) introduced a bipartisan net neutrality bill when congress reopened - essentially identical to the one they proposed in the last congress. in short, the bill would establish a national broadband non-discrimination policy, requiring broadband providers to meet a series of obligations, like offering comparable levels of bandwidth to third-party providers that they offer to their own affiliated services. and the fcc would be empowered to set up a complaint procedure for enforcing the requirements.

per senator dorgan, “the success of the internet has been its openness and the ability of anyone anywhere in this country to go on the internet and reach the world...if the big interests who control the pipes become gatekeepers who erect tolls, it will have a significant impact on the internet as we know it.”

nice momentum in the wake of the conditions the fcc imposed on AT&T related to its acquisition of sbc, e.g. a two-year moratorium on offering any service that “privileges, degrades or prioritizes any packet” transmitted over its broadband service.

in short, bravo. but let's not forget wireless...

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