This should be worth a listen – register at http://www.educause.edu/RegisterNow%2521/9988.
Scott Bradner
University Technology Security Officer
Harvard University
Topic: The Myth of Network Neutrality
Date: February 15, 2006
Time: 1:00 p.m. EST (12:00 p.m. CST, 11:00 a.m. MST, 10:00 a.m. PST);
Duration: 1 hour
At a recent Senate hearing, Vint Cerf said that “nothing less than the future of the Internet is at stake” in the government’s decisions about network neutrality. Meanwhile, the managers of the country’s mega-ISPs assert that they can’t continue investing billions of dollars in high-speed Internet infrastructure without the freedom to explore multitiered services and other nonuniform business models.
During this presentation, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of network neutrality with Scott Bradner, a well-known network activist who’s been involved in the design and implementation of the Internet from its earliest days.
Oren Sreebny 
My response to this paper is entitled, “The Myth of The Dumb Network” and how big Telecom is paying to confuse and deceive the public for private profit.
One only needs to look at AEI-Brookings Joint Center’s list of donors (AT &T, Qualcomm, SBC, Verizon….) to realize that the authors, Robert Hahn and Robert Litan of the AEI-Brookings Joint Center, were paid by big Telecom to write this very one sided and misleading paper on their behalf.
The authors cleverly attempt to coin phrases like “dumb network” (referring to the net neutrality internet model) and use analogies that are inappropriate to defend their position, i.e. the absurd airline industry analogy. A more honest model would be to add the 3rd element, which would be to compare the telecom provider to a travel agent who has a virtual monopoly on customer access to airlines and then compare the airlines to the content providers and finally the customer to the customer. In this more accurate model, the travel agent would be charging the customer to access the database of airlines and seats available and then charging fees to the airlines to get their names on the top of the lists or on the lists at all. The airlines that can’t meet the fees and profit the travel agent can’t stay in business and the customer loses out on CHOICES because the travel agent wants money on both ends. It is also more appropriate to say that the airlines charging more for first class than coach is the same as the cable provider charging the customer for dial up vs high speed or higher speed, WHICH THEY ALREADY DO.
And for their claim and crying about the cost to grow and do business, the fact is that over 10 years ago telephone companies were given over $25 BILLION in tax right offs AND the ability to raise their services, which they did, in return for building fiber optic networks. Yet, to date, they haven’t done any of it. They took the money and ran instead and hope consumers have forgotten their empty “promises.” Still, these same companies claim more deregulation, without net neutrality provisions, is needed to pay for the upgrades and fiber network consumers already paid for with more promises. Sorry, but from now on all promises must be put into writing, as a contract with the American people, and this is called Net Neutrality.
If consumers can’t get protection through strong Net Neutrality provisions, maybe it’s time for communities nationwide to build our own fiber networks that will offer cheaper and much faster service. Lafayette, LA did and is proving communities can do it better and for less than big Telecom. If Telecom continues on their greedy path, this will happen because people are catching on and we are fed up.
Finally, for the sake of simple analogies, let’s talk about baseball. Without rules that are enforced, the game would not be played fairly. And allowing private corporations to play the game without rules or without enforcement of existing rules is killing true competition, hurting the consumer and undermining our very democracy. It is time to demand oversight and the enforcement of existing rules and to hold those in office accountable to the people instead of the deep pockets of big business.
Sally Hampton
13428 Maxella Ave. #399
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
hamptonsally@hotmail.com
LikeLike
My response to this paper is entitled, “The Myth of The Dumb Network” and how big Telecom is paying to confuse and deceive the public for private profit.
One only needs to look at AEI-Brookings Joint Center’s list of donors (AT &T, Qualcomm, SBC, Verizon….) to realize that the authors, Robert Hahn and Robert Litan of the AEI-Brookings Joint Center, were paid by big Telecom to write this very one sided and misleading paper on their behalf.
The authors cleverly attempt to coin phrases like “dumb network” (referring to the net neutrality internet model) and use analogies that are inappropriate to defend their position, i.e. the absurd airline industry analogy. A more honest model would be to add the 3rd element, which would be to compare the telecom provider to a travel agent who has a virtual monopoly on customer access to airlines and then compare the airlines to the content providers and finally the customer to the customer. In this more accurate model, the travel agent would be charging the customer to access the database of airlines and seats available and then charging fees to the airlines to get their names on the top of the lists or on the lists at all. The airlines that can’t meet the fees and profit the travel agent can’t stay in business and the customer loses out on CHOICES because the travel agent wants money on both ends. It is also more appropriate to say that the airlines charging more for first class than coach is the same as the cable provider charging the customer for dial up vs high speed or higher speed, WHICH THEY ALREADY DO.
And for their claim and crying about the cost to grow and do business, the fact is that over 10 years ago telephone companies were given over $25 BILLION in tax right offs AND the ability to raise their services, which they did, in return for building fiber optic networks. Yet, to date, they haven’t done any of it. They took the money and ran instead and hope consumers have forgotten their empty “promises.” Still, these same companies claim more deregulation, without net neutrality provisions, is needed to pay for the upgrades and fiber network consumers already paid for with more promises. Sorry, but from now on all promises must be put into writing, as a contract with the American people, and this is called Net Neutrality.
If consumers can’t get protection through strong Net Neutrality provisions, maybe it’s time for communities nationwide to build our own fiber networks that will offer cheaper and much faster service. Lafayette, LA did and is proving communities can do it better and for less than big Telecom. If Telecom continues on their greedy path, this will happen because people are catching on and we are fed up.
Finally, for the sake of simple analogies, let’s talk about baseball. Without rules that are enforced, the game would not be played fairly. And allowing private corporations to play the game without rules or without enforcement of existing rules is killing true competition, hurting the consumer and undermining our very democracy. It is time to demand oversight and the enforcement of existing rules and to hold those in office accountable to the people instead of the deep pockets of big business.
Sally Hampton
13428 Maxella Ave. #399
Marina del Rey, CA 90292
hamptonsally@hotmail.com
LikeLike
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n10_v23/ai_11384558 —
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070805/news_mz1e5mair.html —
http://www.mises.org/story/2424 —
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071015/wl_uk_afp/britainhealthdentists;_ylt=AkV.J2DQ_XxFRLGSL71yh8Os0NUE —
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/012312.php —
http://www.freemarketcure.com/socializedmedicineissicko.php —
http://www.theadvocates.org/freeman/8903lemi.html —
http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/070801-williams-socialized-medicine.php —
http://www.rangelmd.com/2007/08/socialized-medicine-less-advanced-care.htm —
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2007/02/14/do_we_want_socialized_medicine
LikeLike
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n10_v23/ai_11384558 —
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070805/news_mz1e5mair.html —
http://www.mises.org/story/2424 —
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071015/wl_uk_afp/britainhealthdentists;_ylt=AkV.J2DQ_XxFRLGSL71yh8Os0NUE —
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/012312.php —
http://www.freemarketcure.com/socializedmedicineissicko.php —
http://www.theadvocates.org/freeman/8903lemi.html —
http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/070801-williams-socialized-medicine.php —
http://www.rangelmd.com/2007/08/socialized-medicine-less-advanced-care.htm —
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2007/02/14/do_we_want_socialized_medicine
LikeLike