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Monday, February 25, 2008

Comcast: Friend of Foe

For those of you who have Comcast internet, you may want to take a look at the following:
Comcast to FCC
Also, here's a recent Bill, that google has some say in, that relates to comcast:
Google cheers anti-Comcast legislation

An excerpt from Network Neutrality Wiki:
"Network neutrality (equivalently "net neutrality", "Internet neutrality" or "NN") refers to a principle that is applied to residential broadband networks, and potentially to all networks. Precise definitions vary, but a broadband network free of restrictions on the kinds of equipment that may be attached, on the modes of communication allowed, that does not restrict content, sites, or platforms and where communication is not unreasonably degraded by other communication streams would be considered neutral by most observers.[1][2][3]

The possibility of regulations designed to mandate the neutrality of the Internet has been subject to fierce debate in various fora. Though the term did not enter popular use until several years later, since the early 2000's advocates of net neutrality and associated rules have engaged in mutual campaigns of propaganda with broadband providers over the ability to use "last mile" infrastructure to block opposed internet applications, and content providers (e.g. websites, services, protocols), particularly those served by competitors. Neutrality proponents also claim that telecom companies seek to impose the tiered service model more for the purpose of profiting from their control of the pipeline rather than for any demand for their content or services.[4] Others have stated that they believe net neutrality to be primarily important as a preservation of current freedoms.[5] As Vint Cerf, co-inventor of the Internet Protocol, has stated, "The Internet was designed with no gatekeepers over new content or services. A lightweight but enforceable neutrality rule is needed to ensure that the Internet continues to thrive." [6]

Critics, meanwhile, call net neutrality rules "a solution in search of a problem" and believe that net neutrality rules would reduce incentives to upgrade networks and launch next generation network services.[7] Others argue that discrimination of some kinds, particularly to guarantee "Quality of Service," is not problematic, but highly desirable. Bob Kahn, Internet Protocol's co-inventor, has called the term "net neutrality" a slogan, and states that he opposes establishing it, warning that "nothing interesting can happen inside the net" if it passes: "If the goal is to encourage people to build new capabilities, then the party that takes the lead in building that new capability, is probably only going to have it on their net to start with and it is probably not going to be on anybody else's net.[8]"

In a June 2007 report, the Federal Trade Commission urged restraint with respect to the new regulations proposed by network neutrality advocates, noting the "broadband industry is a relatively young and evolving one," and given no "significant market failure or demonstrated consumer harm from conduct by broadband providers," such regulations "may well have adverse effects on consumer welfare, despite the good intentions of their proponents[9]." In turn, the FTC conclusions have been questioned in Congress, as in September 2007, when Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the Senate interstate commerce, trade and tourism subcommittee, told FTC Chairwoman Deborah Platt Majoras that he feared new services as ground-breaking as Google could not get started in a system with price discrimination.[10]"

Post some comments with your thoughts on network neutrality or lack there of. I want to see how others feel about this subject!

2 comments:

Alan R. Carter said...

Hmm. I am very much for filtering this type of traffic. It can take down an ISP's entire infrastructure by using up all available bandwidth, thus freezing out everyone else.

Unknown said...

The problem, is that laws are easy to create. Enforcing them, however, is where our government consistently fails.