Feds May Let Big Telecom Hijack The Internet

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: November 11, 2005 11:46:57 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: Re: [IP] Feds May Let Big Telecom Hijack The Internet


Dave,

For those who don't watch TV (see, you miss more than great programs
like "Modern Marvels" on History Channel ... ), the telephone
companies' alliance has again been flooding the airwaves with
"unleash the phone companies" advertising.  These follow their usual
line: We see happy consumers using futuristic communications devices
and services, and are told that our telecom laws are only slightly
more recent than the invention of plumbing.  Allow for true
market-based competition without all of those inconvenient
regulations, the commercials say, and it'll truly be a wonderful
world indeed!  And there's not a phone bill in sight!

Of course, the truth of the matter is that the telcos have been
moving rapidly through massive consolidation -- and a range of other
tactics -- to create an environment where "competition" will only be
a pale reflection of what we were originally promised, with only a
few gigantic players in control of all telecom resources and
policies.  Like the robot cop in "Terminator 2" that reformed from
blown-apart mercurial blobs of metal, the "golden age" of telecom
competition is already giving way to empire.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () pfir org or lauren () vortex com or lauren () eepi org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
  - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, EEPI
  - Electronic Entertainment Policy Initiative - http://www.eepi.org
Moderator, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
DayThink: http://daythink.vortex.com

 - - -

> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Date: November 9, 2005 7:50:07 PM EST
> To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com>
> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Feds May Let Big Telecom Hijack The Internet
> Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com
>
> [Note:  This item comes from reader Mike Cheponis.  DLH]
>
> November 09, 2005
> Feds May Let Big Telecom Hijack The Internet
> <http://www.networkingpipeline.com/blog/archives/2005/11/
> feds_may_let_bi.html>
> The feds are holding hearings today on a bill that could essentially
> allow big Telcos to hijack the Internet. The law would regulate
> Internet Protocol and broadband services, and it would let the big
> providers block services and net access, and possibly worse as well.
>
> The proposal before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce's
> Subcommittee on Telecommunications is rather arcane, and I'll cover
> it in a bit of detail in future blogs. But the gist is clear: It
> would end the era of Internet openness, and give Big Telecom a big
> financial windfall.
>
> Don't believe me? Then maybe you'll believe the person who to a great
> extent invented the Internet, Vincent Cerf.
>
> In written testimony to the committee, Cerf warns: "This bill would
> do great damage to the Internet as we know it. Enshrining a rule that
> broadly permits network operators to discriminate in favor of certain
> kinds of services and to potentially interfere with others would
> place broadband operators in control of online activity."
>
> He goes on to say, "Allowing broadband providers to segment their IP
> offerings and reserve huge amounts of bandwidth for their own
> services will not give consumers the broadband Internet our country
> and economy need. Many people will have little or no choice among
> broadband operators for the foreseeable future, implying that such
> operators will have the power to exercise a great deal of control
> over any applications placed on the network."
>
> You can read his full testimony on the Google blog: <http://
> googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/11/vint-cerf-speaks-out-on-net-
> neutrality.html>
>
> Ironically, today Cerf is going to receive the Presidential Medal of
> Freedom, along with Robert Kahn, for designing the open protocols
> that underly the Internet. If anyone knows about the implications of
> this bill, it's Cerf --- and the law could go a long way to harm the
> world-changing network he helped create.
>
> Posted by Preston Gralla at 10:14 AM
>
> Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>
>
>
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