'Neutrality' regulations could stifle evolution of high-speed Internet

'NEUTRALITY' REGULATION COULD STIFLE EVOLUTION OF HIGH-SPEED INTERNET
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Michelangelo Volpi, Cisco]
[Commentay] The net neutrality debate comes down to this: content providers and aggregators want to regulate the Internet so that service providers cannot charge for different levels of service among their customers. The proposed rules would be akin to regulating that there cannot be carpool lanes on a highway. Broadband service providers who build the networks believe they should be able to manage the networks for efficiency, security and quality of service. Broadband providers believe they should be able to place intelligence in the core of their network as well as the edge, or the part that reaches consumers. The debates between these two camps centers on whether Congress should step in to create such regulation. It should not. A lot is at stake for the ordinary broadband user. The success of the Internet has surpassed our wildest dreams. But overall, these services have been relatively easy to deliver because they are not time-sensitive and are not affected by congestion in the network. If an e-mail takes an extra five seconds to reach you, it does not matter. However, you will be very frustrated if the movie you are watching online is choppy. The House of Representatives recently recognized that a market-based approach is the correct way to go with the Internet. We all agree that broadband service providers should not block, impede or slow any legal application or service connected to the Internet. FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin has stated the FCC has the power and ability to make sure this is not happening. Regulatory actions are unnecessary at this point since there is no existing problem or harm occurring to consumers or content providers. Enacting new regulations as some of the content providers propose, however, would dampen the development of the Internet and its future waves of innovation. Innovation has been the lifeblood of the Internet and of the U.S. economy for the last decade. Our nation should think carefully before taking a step that would stifle what will be an exciting and important wave of new innovative services.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/14867068.htm