Net Neutrality: Big Guns Trade Fire

NET NEUTRALITY: BIG GUNS TRADE FIRE
[SOURCE: Broadcasting&Cable, AUTHOR: John Eggerton]
On Monday, Microsoft sent a letter to House members advising them to vote for a network neutrality amendment to the national video franchise bill, saying that decision "could dictate whether or not the United States will continue to lead the world in Internet-related technologies, communications, content and services over the next decade." Meanwhile, academics, led by David Farber, former chief technologist at the FCC and dubbed "grandfather" of the Internet by net neutrality opponents, argued that neutrality is not a plus in all cases, citing traffic management, where prioritizing is important: i.e. moving VoIP faster than e-mail, or blocking viruses and spam. They also argued that, if companies can't charge more for security and speed, they might not be able to provide key services that depend on those additional features.
http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA6341184?display=Breaking+News

* Net Hypocrisy
Public Knowledge's Art Brodsky writes, "It is ludicrous for the telephone companies and their congressional allies, principally Republicans, to fight against net neutrality on the basis of the fraudulent don't regulate the Internet' mantra. The industry has the gall to name one of their propaganda sites, www.dontregulate.org, part of the “Hands Off the Internet” family—brought to you by the telephone and cable industries . All of their other arguments hang from this one basic, misapplied concept."
http://www.tompaine.com/articles/2006/06/02/net_hypocrisy.php

* Protection needed for 'Net neutrality
Lincoln (NE) Journal Star says, "Congress should pass legislation that protects network neutrality."
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/06/05/editorial_main/doc448382a...

* Telecom giants threaten Net neutrality
Jacksonville (FL) Business Journal says, "Phone and cable companies have begun to stir. They don't want a marketplace of ideas. They don't want the innovative, idea-rich laboratory of speech, media, religion and thought that we know today. They want money."
http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2006/06/05/edit...