Candidates' Telecom Policy Vision

At the cable industry convention in New Orleans, former Federal Communications Commission Chairman William Kennard spelled out various elements of Sen Barack Obama's telecom policy vision on a panel with other proxies for the major presidential candidates. Former FCC chairman Michael Powell stood in for Republican Party presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and former FCC Democrat Susan Ness addressed the policy views of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). According to Kennard, Sen Obama (D-IL) would likely exempt tier-pricing models from Network Neutrality regulation if broadband network owners used them to maintain congestion-free access to the Internet. Kennard, an outside communications policy adviser to Sen Obama, said Obama has consistently supported net neutrality regulation while recognizing that network owners need to manage their systems and attract investment capital. "Where that has typically led us is to supporting tier pricing systems as long as they're not discriminatory," said Kennard. Powell outlined a bold free-market blueprint for the Internet from a potential McCain administration. "While he supports Internet freedom, he's very, very skeptical of efforts to create new legislation," Powell said. After Kennard mentioned that net neutrality was a complex and evolving issue, Powell said the lack of stability suggested that Internet regulation was inappropriate. "That's exactly when Congress ought to leave their pen in their pocket," Powell said. "I think there's nothing worse than the legislature passing a poor understanding of technical concepts, a poor understanding of the consequences of the statute that finally once on the books, you'll have a heck of a time ever removing."
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6562007.html?nid=4262