Net Neutrality Links 06-16-2008

Verizon Cable Franchise Agreement: $70 Billion Bun That Needs More Time In The Oven
By Chris Keeley
New York City and Verizon recently reached a 12-year, first-of-its-kind cable franchise agreement which will allow Verizon to offer the “triple play” of services – cable TV, phone and internet service – throughout all five boroughs of the city. With this agreement, New York City is calling off a long-held, city-imposed truce between the city’s two cable providers, Time Warner and Cablevision, and other competitors …

Senate Hearing on Net Neutrality Raises New Piracy Concerns
The Heartland Institute - Chicago, IL, USA
The role of piracy in the net neutrality debate roiled a US House of Representatives subcommittee hearing on May 6. Lawmakers of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet entertained arguments regarding Chairman Ed Markey’s bill (HR 5353) that would establish net neutrality as the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) governing principle, commence an official proceeding against broadband providers, and require “broadband summits” around the country.

“This whole idea that this legislation helps piracy is 100 percent wrong. It’s a red herring,” said Markey (D-MA).

Samsung, Panasonic, Intel, Others Join Cable’s Tru2Way
Broadcasting & Cable - New York, NY, USA
But McSlarrow stepped back into the arena for a moment, saying “Unfortunately, this point is lost on many of the net neutrality advocates whose stilted view of networks informs the almost laughable allegation that we have an interest in undermining the ‘new world’ of broadband to protect the “old world” of linear video . . . in which case, we sure are wasting a lot of time and money enabling all these great applications.”

Net Neutrality Could Sabotage Health Care Tech
The Heartland Institute - Chicago, IL, USA
Technology such as RFID tags connected with wireless networks can help create an “always on” health monitoring system, transitioning society away from a “mainframe” medical model and redirecting it toward a smaller, more personalized, PC-type model.

This is a great idea, but the unspoken truth is that this type of communication requires healthy, innovative networks. That raises a key question about net neutrality, an issue spun and re-spun by many.

FCC Commissioner Adelstein Makes a Strong Case for Net Neutrality
By Mehan Jayasuriya
His most insightful comments, however, were on the topic of Net Neutrality and how the battle for neutral networks is linked to the American tradition of decentralized media.

Apple spends $390K on lobbying
MacUser - San Francisco, CA, USA
Finally, they lobbied on “legislation preserving the practice of treating all traffic on the Web equally, and on another bill to reform a federal program that awards subsidies for providing high-speed Internet service in schools, libraries and in rural areas.”

Net Neutrality Does Not Protect Free Speech
By Peter Suderman
The net neutrality debate has been rife with scare-mongering from the start, but the latest suggestion from the ACLU — that net neutrality is a necessary component of free speech — continues to annoy me: …

McCain Discovers The Internet, Disses Net Neutrality
By ReallySeriousNews
We know that we, the netroots, are miles ahead of DC politicians and the gasbag pundit class, with bloggers exposing truths the media never would have paid attention to, and activists working to turn electoral politics on its ear. …

Rogers admits to violating net neutrality
Digital Home - Toronto, Ontario, Canada
… Rogers Communications admitted that it violated the principle of net neutrality by arbitrarily interfering with customer’s internet communications. The company told representatives from the CBC and the Globe and Mail that its primary method for interfering with how subscribers use their internet connection - known as traffic shaping - is to throttle customers upload speeds.

Candidates Differ on Net Neutrality
By Vlada Gelman
Campaign surrogates for John McCain said the Republican presidential candidate would not support network neutrality legislation, pushing for regulation that would separate broadcast, cable and possibly the Internet instead, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Meanwhile, Barack Obama’s representatives said the Democratic presidential candidate would support net neutrality and a diversity of voice to prevent further media consolidation, the newspaper says.