Net Neutrality Watcher: 2010

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Net Neutrality - A Letter From Eric Schmidt

A Note to Google Users on Net Neutrality:

The Internet as we know it is facing a serious threat. There's a debate heating up in Washington, DC on something called "net neutrality" – and it's a debate that's so important Google is asking you to get involved. We're asking you to take action to protect Internet freedom.

In the next few days, the House of Representatives is going to vote on a bill that would fundamentally alter the Internet. That bill, and one that may come up for a key vote in the Senate in the next few weeks, would give the big phone and cable companies the power to pick and choose what you will be able to see and do on the Internet.

Today the Internet is an information highway where anybody – no matter how large or small, how traditional or unconventional – has equal access. But the phone and cable monopolies, who control almost all Internet access, want the power to choose who gets access to high-speed lanes and whose content gets seen first and fastest. They want to build a two-tiered system and block the on-ramps for those who can't pay.

Creativity, innovation and a free and open marketplace are all at stake in this fight. Please call your representative (202-224-3121) and let your voice be heard.

Thanks for your time, your concern and your support.

Eric Schmidt

Google chief favors net neutrality but is wary of government regulation of Web - washingtonpost.com

Google chief executive Eric Schmidt favors net neutrality, but only to a point: While the tech player wants to make sure that telecommunications giants don't steer Internet traffic in a way that would favor some devices or services over others, he also believes that it would be a terrible idea fo...
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By Mike Musgrove

Thursday, February 18, 2010

In Spectrum Auction, Winners Are AT&T, Verizon and Openness

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"The prospect for more openness is potentially a meaningful victory for the long-term. I certainly don’t think this has any near-term consequences," says Cantor Fitzgerald’s Brown.

FCC Hearing: Rob Topolski on Comcast TCP Resets

The engineer who found that Comcast was RESETTING connection of its subscribers that use the torrent network even for legal uses!!!

FCC Backs Net Neutrality

FCC chairman Julius Genachowski delivered Monday on President Obama’s promise to back “net neutrality.” But he went much further than merely seeking to expand rules that prohibit ISPs from filtering or blocking net traffic — he proposed that they cover all broadband connections, including data connections for smartphones.

FCC Approves Net Neutrality Rules, Now the Fight Begins

The FCC approved strong openness rules for wired and wireless broadband connections to the internet Thursday, leaving the details of the rules open to public debate for the next 60 days. The move will gratify President Obama’s grassroots supporters and internet services like Google, but draw the wrath of large telecoms like AT&T and the wireless industry.

The FCC’s five commissioners unanimously agreed to expand and codify rules from 2005 that require cable and DSL providers to allow their customers to use whatever devices or online services they want so long as they don’t hurt the network. A similar rule applied to AT&T’s phone monopoly in the 1960s led to the fax machine, the football phone and the internet.