Net Neutrality Lobbyists stick with a Grassroots Approach

NET NEUTRALITY LOBBYISTS STICK WITH A GRASSROOTS APPROACH
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Elana Schor]
Though the Internet firms, public advocacy groups and bloggers fighting for the regulatory principle known as “net neutrality” decisively lost their House battle last week, they do not plan to regroup and change their grassroots focus as the lobbying war reignites in the Senate. The still-escalating fight over network neutrality pits large phone and cable companies, which want the right to charge extra fees for priority Internet access, against content providers that are wary of a pay-for-play system and would like a so-called “neutral” web. Both sides launched large ad buys and coalitions to maximize their influence on lawmakers, but pro-neutrality lobbyists admit that the Bells’ and cable sector’s skill at blanketing the Hill was difficult to match. “We were completely outmanned and outgunned on the lobbying front,” said Paul Misener, vice president of public policy at Amazon.com. “It will be unfortunate if that’s the way things are decided. Perhaps that’s naive on my part, to think we might have a chance.”
http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Business/061306_net.html