David Snead

The Internet thrives when a level playing field allows innovation to come from anyone with a good idea and the ability to act on it. Minimal barriers to entry encourage individual entrepreneurs, small businesses, and global companies to compete in the same arena.

The most effective way for the Federal Communications Commission to protect and promote the Internet is to implement Open Access by reclassifying the broadband transmission component as a Title II telecommunications service.

Although Net Neutrality rules attempt to alleviate the effects of an uncompetitive last mile by regulating broadband access, Open Access strikes at the heart of the problem by opening up the network to robust competition. Open Access would bring competition back to the Internet access market and consumer choice would be the primary safeguard against abusive and discriminatory network practices.

[Snead is Internet Infrastructure Coalition Co-Founder and Public Policy Chair]

The Internet Infrastructure Coalition is one of 10 global organizations that recently petitioned the co-facilitators of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) to keep Internet policy negotiations open and collaborative for the 10-year review.

The next set of consultations on the WSIS process is March 11. The i2Coalition believes that the WSIS process creates a unique opportunity to ensure that the future of both is more synergistic. We envision an overall WSIS review that:

• Renews and revives the international community’s commitment to the Geneva principles’ vision of a “people-centred, inclusive, development-oriented and non-discriminatory Information Society”;
• Is firmly rooted in the international human rights framework and the multi-stakeholder tradition, which is at the heart of the Information Society;
• Considers fully how private enterprise, especially SMEs, can help deliver a networked economy with the greatest benefits at the lowest cost for all, especially those who are in developing and least-developed countries and not yet online;
• Learns from the last 10 years WSIS implementation and ensures future implementation is designed to helping the world deliver on the goals of the post-2015 development agenda.

[March 10]