fos
05-24-2006, 07:59 AM
Is anyone familiar with this legislation. From experience, I'm concerned about politician double speak. fos....
May 23, 2006, 9:41PM
ACCESS TO ALL
Pending Internet neutrality legislation is vital to preserving independent Web content and expression
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Big telecommunication and cable companies provide 98 percent of U.S. Internet users with broadband services. Those high-speed connections have revolutionized the quantity and quality of Web-based information, but without some regulation, such monopolies are prone to anti-competitive business practices.
Previously, Federal Communications Commission regulations required telecom companies to provide open access to the Internet. Last year, the FCC eliminated those restrictions. As a result, there are currently no laws to prevent providers from controlling their customers' Internet access.
Officials of some companies recently have suggested policies favoring some content providers over others and restricting users' ability to avail themselves of the full range of the Internet. Telephone companies have sought to prevent broadband customers from utilizing cheap, Internet-based long distance service.
In the face of these encroachments, congressional action is needed to preserve Internet competitiveness. Fortunately, there are several bills percolating in the House of Representatives that could fill the regulatory vacuum.
One of them, the Internet Freedom and Non-Discrimination Act of 2006, would provide anti-trust protection by prohibiting broadband providers from favoring some Web sites and services or limiting customers' range of choices. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., and Michigan's John Conyers, the ranking Democratic member, co-sponsored the legislation.
Sensenbrenner says broadband providers have the right to sell increased bandwidth to customers willing to pay more, but "I am opposed to providers giving faster, more efficient access to certain service providers at the expense of others."
Conyers claims the Internet is at risk because of industry "pay to play" proposals. According to the congressman, "when an entity with a monopoly or duopoly of market share uses its power to hijack someone else's content, it is a violation of the anti-trust laws."
A previous attempt by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass, to insert a "net neutrality" amendment in pending communications legislation failed in committee, and Markey now has introduced a stand alone bill that he describes as "a choice between broadband barons and average-Joe cybersurfers, between the pre-chosen voices favored by those in the executive suite and the wonderfully chaotic nature of the net. ... " He credited a grassroots uprising uniting liberal Democrats and conservative groups including the Christian Coalition for fueling the momentum for net neutrality legislation.
If those who provide links to the Internet are allowed to dictate what portions of it the public can access, diversity of content and services will wither as the medium is auctioned to the highest bidder. Congress must guarantee that the Internet retains its status as a vibrant free marketplace of the mind.
May 23, 2006, 9:41PM
ACCESS TO ALL
Pending Internet neutrality legislation is vital to preserving independent Web content and expression
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle
Big telecommunication and cable companies provide 98 percent of U.S. Internet users with broadband services. Those high-speed connections have revolutionized the quantity and quality of Web-based information, but without some regulation, such monopolies are prone to anti-competitive business practices.
Previously, Federal Communications Commission regulations required telecom companies to provide open access to the Internet. Last year, the FCC eliminated those restrictions. As a result, there are currently no laws to prevent providers from controlling their customers' Internet access.
Officials of some companies recently have suggested policies favoring some content providers over others and restricting users' ability to avail themselves of the full range of the Internet. Telephone companies have sought to prevent broadband customers from utilizing cheap, Internet-based long distance service.
In the face of these encroachments, congressional action is needed to preserve Internet competitiveness. Fortunately, there are several bills percolating in the House of Representatives that could fill the regulatory vacuum.
One of them, the Internet Freedom and Non-Discrimination Act of 2006, would provide anti-trust protection by prohibiting broadband providers from favoring some Web sites and services or limiting customers' range of choices. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wis., and Michigan's John Conyers, the ranking Democratic member, co-sponsored the legislation.
Sensenbrenner says broadband providers have the right to sell increased bandwidth to customers willing to pay more, but "I am opposed to providers giving faster, more efficient access to certain service providers at the expense of others."
Conyers claims the Internet is at risk because of industry "pay to play" proposals. According to the congressman, "when an entity with a monopoly or duopoly of market share uses its power to hijack someone else's content, it is a violation of the anti-trust laws."
A previous attempt by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass, to insert a "net neutrality" amendment in pending communications legislation failed in committee, and Markey now has introduced a stand alone bill that he describes as "a choice between broadband barons and average-Joe cybersurfers, between the pre-chosen voices favored by those in the executive suite and the wonderfully chaotic nature of the net. ... " He credited a grassroots uprising uniting liberal Democrats and conservative groups including the Christian Coalition for fueling the momentum for net neutrality legislation.
If those who provide links to the Internet are allowed to dictate what portions of it the public can access, diversity of content and services will wither as the medium is auctioned to the highest bidder. Congress must guarantee that the Internet retains its status as a vibrant free marketplace of the mind.