Senator: Net neutrality may not happen

[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache]
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said Tuesday that a much-anticipated proposal to overhaul U.S. telecommunications laws may not require network providers to follow Net neutrality principles. He told reporters that he supports the idea of Net neutrality -- that is, legally requiring network providers to treat everyone equally -- in principle. Because Stevens' committee is the Senate panel responsible for updating the 1996 Telecommunications Act, his lukewarm endorsement of Net neutrality could be a setback for companies that have been pressing for it to be mandated by law. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, eBay, Amazon.com, Skype and liberal advocacy groups have been pressing Congress for strict laws in this area. During an afternoon hearing before Stevens' committee, some Wall Street analysts expressed skepticism that aggressive new laws on Net neutrality were necessary. "The very idea that third parties who benefit from Internet infrastructure investments--say, Google and Yahoo--might economically contribute in some way to these costs has been roundly greeted as if it is a threat to basic liberties," said Craig Moffett, an equity research analyst at Sanford Bernstein who studies the cable and satellite sector. If some of the current proposals for Net neutrality were enacted, it would, Moffett said, "likely trigger a host of unintended consequences. Mandated 'Net Neutrality' would further sour Wall Street's taste for broadband infrastructure investments, making it increasingly difficult to sustain the necessary capital investments."
http://news.com.com/Senator+Net+neutrality+may+not+happen/2100-1028_3-60...

* Stevens Indicates Senate Prospects Unclear For 'Net Neutrality' Clause
http://www.njtelecomupdate.com/lenya/telco/live/tb-PKMQ1142371107278.html