Net Neutrality not Going Away

NET NEUTRALITY NOT GOING AWAY
[SOURCE: TelephonyOnline, AUTHOR: Carol Wilson]
Proponents of Net neutrality are vowing to keep fighting well past this fall's election and say their grassroots movement is gaining ground. There is increased skepticism that any telecom bill will pass this fall, because of the short congressional session in advance of the election and some opposition in the Senate to Sen. Ted Stevens' (R-Alaska) pending telecom reform bill. The leaders of SavetheInternet.com and the It's Our Net Coalition say they will keep building grassroots support for Net neutrality legislation with the intent of making it part of any telecom reform that takes place in 2007. "We would be quite happy to sit down tomorrow and negotiate a deal with the other side where we put Net neutrality into the telecom bill and pass it this year," said Ben Scott, policy director of FreePress and SavetheInternet.com. "Failing that, we will come back next year, and we will be at the head of a massive movement that will have grown because we will keep building it, and we will have solid support to do Net neutrality next year. Realistically, it is likely to be attached to a larger telecom vehicle next year. But with sufficient pressure from below, there could be a stand-alone Net neutrality bill."
http://telephonyonline.com/mag/telecom_net_neutrality_not/