Home » Posts tagged 'net neutrality' (Page 5)
Tag Archives: net neutrality
New video explains net-neutrality
Humanity Lobotomy Net Neutrality Open Source Documentary
Excellent video features Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Bill Moyers, Lawrence Lessig, Congressman Ed Markey, and more. It explains why net-neutrality is important for democracy.
Save the Internet | Rock the Vote
Continue reading
Search depends on net neutrality
"Search depends on net neutrality." So says this short piece in Search Engine Watch: Without Neutrality, What Happens to Search? by Deborah Richman (Jan. 16, 2007). With libraries and users increasingly relying on public search engines like google as a supplement or better alternative to OPACs, Net Neutrality becomes essential. In addition, web harvesting projects run by libraries could be damaged if we lose net neutrality because "it's possible that URLs could be filtered or treated differently based on still-undefined rules set by broadband providers." Continue reading
Net Neutrality 101
If you are looking for a quick introduction to what net neutrality is all about and why you should care about it, you can't do much better than the "Inside Risks" column in the current issue of the Communications of the ACM.
- Ma Bell's revenge: the battle for network neutrality [subscription required] by Lauren Weinstein, "Inside risks" Communications of the ACM Volume 50, Number 1 (January 2007), Page 128.
If you can't get that, an almost identical version appeared earlier on Weinstein's blog as Why Consumers Should Care About Network Neutrality, Lauren Weinstein's Blog (October 30, 2006). Lauren Weinstein is co-founder of People for Internet Responsibility (www.pfir.org).
He says:
The outcome of this controversy will affect everybody who comes into contact with the Internet... Neutrality is an aspect of the Internet that is so taken for granted that it seems invisible and intrinsic, but it has been critical to the Internet's success to date. ...most Internet users simply don't realize how drastically and negatively they could be affected if anti-neutrality arguments hold sway. Getting true network neutrality back after it's been lost is likely to be effectively impossible. Except for the anti-neutrality camp itself, we'd all be worse off with a non-neutral Internet, and that's a risk we simply must not accept.Continue reading
Net Neutrality, the FCC, and AT&T
Kevin Taglang has an excellent recap of coverage of what the Wall Street Journal calls AT&T's "capitulation" (Industry Braces for Net-Neutrality Fallout by Amy Schatz, Wall Street Journal January 2, 2007; Page A3 [free today only]) on the issue of Net Neutrality and the Federal Communications Commission's unanimous approval of AT&T's buyout of BellSouth:
- FCC Approves AT&T-BellSouth Deal, by Kevin Taglang, Benton's Communications-Related Headlines (JANUARY 2, 2007)
While some see the recent events as a victory for net neutrality, others question this. The agreement is only for two years and is limited in scope. In addition, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is quoted in the WSJ article as saying "[It] does not mean that the Commission has adopted an additional net neutrality principle. We continue to believe such a requirement is not necessary and may impede infrastructure deployment."
Continue readingAT&T agrees to net neutrality — and tells us they’ll ignore it
One big case that can affect Net Neutrality is the AT&T proposed buyout of BellSouth. There is news that AT&T has made big concessions to network neutrality, but early reports from those who've looked at their memo carefully show that AT&T is not making any concessions at all. According to TechDirt, "AT&T promises not to violate network neutrality on a network they never intended to use that way, and carves out permission to use it on their new network, where they had planned all along to set up additional tollbooths."
- And By The Time Anyone Reads The Sneaky Fine Print On AT&T's Concessions, The Merger Will Be Done TechDirt (December 29th, 2006)
- Loophole watch in AT&T-BellSouth merger by isen, December 29, 2006
Latest Comments