IP: Telecommuters must pay extra for cable VPNs [v2]

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> From: "Bob Frankston" <BobRMF17 () Bobf Frankston com>
> To: "David Farber" <dave () farber net>
>
>
> <http://www.computerworld.com/storyba/0,4125,NAV47_STO66589,00.html>http://www.computerworld.com/storyba/0,4125,NAV47_STO66589,00.html
>
>
>
> Just one more example of how absolute power corrupts.
>
>
>
> I remember when I had a modem at home and used it to dial up the computers 
> at school and work. In 1970, Mort Berlan, then head of MIT s phone network 
> assured me that the phone companies could not force me to get a business 
> line. There is no reason to even assume that a VPN is a heavier burden 
> that shared webcams. Remember that a VPN is an application defined at the 
> end points, it is not a service provided by the carrier
>
>
>
> Move ahead thirty years and we find that the carriers now feel free to 
> eavesdrop on my conversations and tell me whether I am using unapproved 
> packets. What is the reasoning that justifies such intrusiveness? I would 
> think granting the ability to interfere with free speech requires an 
> extraordinary justification.
>
>
>
> This is only a small part of the larger issue of those who have been 
> trusted with controlling the first mile of connectivity from my home 
> continue to talk about the revenue from new services that they can create 
> and content they can delivery. But this all assumes that they continue to 
> make policies that limit my choice of who I can communicate with. (Yes, I 
> know I can use the phone but that s like saying I can use the post office 
> instead of the Internet.)
>
>
>
> It is one more reminder why asking for more broadband is self-defeating. 
> The model of broadband being offered is much more like television than the 
> innovative Internet. We need to be very careful about what we ask for -- 
> we might very well get broadband yet still not get the societal benefits 
> of the Internet. That would be tragic.
>
>
>
>
>
> Bob Frankston
> <http://www.frankston.com>http://www.Frankston.com

For archives see:
http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/