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Telecommunications & Equipment
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Feature Reports
Net Neutrality Battle Spills Into Wireless World
PC World, October 20, 2009
A battle is brewing between wireless carriers and the feds--and caught in the crossfire are the smartphones, netbooks, and bandwidth-hungry mobile applications that users are increasingly enjoying. Both camps claim to be doing what's right for consumers: One side says that it is heading off a mobile meltdown by enforcing rules on the types of devices and services that can access networks, while the other says that giving users unfettered access to the wireless Web should be the priority.
Can the Wireless Internet Be Neutral?
MIT Technology review, September 30, 2009
Every cell phone tower includes scheduling software that decides how fast e-mails, videos, and photos flow to and from wireless gadgets. Today these schedulers are programmed, at least in part, to make sure that the most profitable Internet traffic moves along at a fast clip. But under forthcoming Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "Net neutrality" regulations, wireless carriers may have to more strongly consider something else: fairness.
Will Net Neutrality Go Wireless?
BusinessWeek, September 29, 2009
Google and the telecommunications industry are girding for the "mother of all battles" over the possibility of open-access rules on wireless networks.
"Net neutrality" gets white hot as FCC drafts broadband plan
ars technica, July 23, 2009
Net neutrality has largely died down as an issue in Congress, but the war over the idea has resumed at the FCC as the agency drafts its national broadband plan. Is it just a new "price control" or a precious part of the "public interest"?
Net Neutrality at Risk in Europe
BusinessWeek, March 27, 2009
Sweeping new telecom rules in the European Parliament could permit differing classes of service on the Internet—but Google and others are fighting back.
Net Neutrality, Unbundling, and their Effects on International Investment in Next-Generation Networks
Technology Policy Institute, March 2009
This paper examines the net neutrality debate in countries outside the U.S., particularly in the EU. Most appear to have endorsed the idea of net neutrality and believe that policies promoting unbundling – mandatory network sharing – will ensure neutral networks. We argue that unbundling may not necessarily affect incumbent incentives to prioritize certain traffic. Because unbundling can affect investment incentives, we use a new dataset to examine empirically the effects of unbundling on investment in new fiber networks in Europe. We find a significant negative correlation between the number of unbundled DSL connections per capita and the number of fiber connections.
Net Neutrality Rules in Stimulus Trigger Backlash
The Hill, January 21, 2009
Open Internet access rules added to the stimulus package threaten the tentative partnership between technology and telecom companies, which have coalesced behind the bill’s $6 billion funding for broadband access.
Google Wants Its Own Fast Track on the Web
Available by free subscription
The Wall Street Journal, December 15, 2008
The celebrated openness of the Internet -- network providers are not supposed to give preferential treatment to any traffic -- is quietly losing powerful defenders. Google Inc. has approached major cable and phone companies that carry Internet traffic with a proposal to create a fast lane for its own content, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Google has traditionally been one of the loudest advocates of equal network access for all content providers.
The Durable Internet: Preserving Network Neutrality without Regulation
The CATO Institute, November 12, 2008
New regulations inevitably come with unintended consequences. Indeed, today's network neutrality debate is strikingly similar to the debate that produced the first modern regulatory agency, the Interstate Commerce Commission. Unfortunately, rather than protecting consumers from the railroads, the ICC protected the railroads from competition by erecting new barriers to entry in the surface transportation marketplace. Other 20th-century regulatory agencies also limited competition in the industries they regulated. Like these older regulatory regimes, network neutrality regulations are likely not to achieve their intended aims. Given the need for more competition in the broadband marketplace, policymakers should be especially wary of enacting regulations that could become a barrier to entry for new broadband firms.
Keep the Internet Free
The Wall Street Journal, October 23, 2008
The Net was never neutral. Now's no time to change that.
New Industry Group Takes Aim at 'Net Pollution,' Piracy
Linux World, September 29, 2008
Technology and entertainment heavyweights are undertaking a public relations campaign to dissuade consumers from illegal file sharing.
Feds And Internet Service Providers Don't Mix
Forbes, September 26, 2008
Cable giant Comcast is at the center of a very important controversy for small businesses. In the summer of 2007, it became clear that the carrier was putting restrictions on how much information selected customers could transmit. BitTorrent, a P2P application-sharing company, had been using lots of bandwidth, so the ISP throttled back some its transmissions. This August, the FCC ruled that the practice was illegal. In September, the carrier said it would appeal the decision but will begin capping residential bandwidth in October.
A Policy Analysis of Net Neutrality
Fraser Institute, June 2008
This report examines and evaluates arguments for regulating the behavior of ISPs from the perspective of proponents of net neutrality regulations. The main concern
focuses on so-called access tiering. Net neutrality proponents worry that access tiering will result in reduced innovation rates by making it more difficult and
expensive for new content providers to offer their content on the Internet in competition with established providers. They are also concerned that ISPs may use access
tiering or other initiatives to discriminate in favor of their own web site content and applications.
The Network Neutrality Debate: American Alliance of Service Providers May Newsletter
American Alliance of Service Providers, May 2008
The AASP gathered information and views from many sources to put this together this 13 page newsletter which includes varying views and opinions on Network Neutrality.
Net Neutrality, One More Time
Analyst Views, February 29, 2008
After being off the front burner for a while the issue of ‘Net Neutrality has once again been placed front and center. Not much has changed since the last time the issue was on the table; the same arguments are being implemented and the same examples are being forwarded. Net Neutrality is not a cut-and-dry if-then issue, and unfortunately parties on both sides are doing more to muddy the waters than to offer the clarity which is needed.
Comcast Facing Backlash after Hearing
Boston Globe, February 29, 2008
After a hearing into Comcast Corp.'s Internet policies this week, the company faces a backlash of bad publicity and increasing skepticism about the way the telecommunications giant runs its high-speed Internet service. Critics have denounced Comcast for paying people to occupy seats in the cramped Harvard Law School lecture hall where the Federal Communications Commission hearing was held, preventing many critics from gaining admittance. Comcast officials said they were merely trying to save enough seats for company executives.
Whose Web Is It, Anyway?
Newsweek, February 28, 2008
But that could change. Internet service providers want the authority to speed up or slow down the delivery of Web content depending on what business arrangement they may or may not have with a certain site. That's not in keeping with the principles of Net neutrality, says the Save the Internet Coalition. Before your eyes completely glaze over, activists and academics want you to take note. "I hope people understand why this is so significant," says Lawrence Lessig, founder of Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society.
Comcast Accused of Falsely Taking Hearing Seats
Washington Post, February 28, 2008
The organizer of a federal hearing Monday at Harvard Law School on Comcast's treatment of subscriber Internet traffic said yesterday that "seat-warmers" hired by the company prevented other people from attending.
Comcast acknowledged that it hired an unspecified number of people to fill seats, but said those people gave up their spots when Comcast employees arrived to take their places.
NY AG Subpoenas Comcast on Broadband
New York Times, February 27, 2008
The New York attorney general's office has requested information from Comcast Corp. on the company's handling of Internet traffic.
Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, is the subject of several complaints to the Federal Communications Commission and has been sued by customers over its throttling of file-sharing traffic on its cable-modem service.
Comcast Executive Grilled at FCC Hearing
CIO Today, February 26, 2008
Comcast Executive Vice President David Cohen insists BitTorrent wasn't blocked but managed. The issue for the Federal Communications Commission hearing at Harvard focused on "reasonable" network management for P2P sharing. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin led the questioning of Comcast's Cohen and told reporters he still has concerns.
FCC Head Says Action Possible on Web Limits
Washington Post, February 26, 2008
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission yesterday sharply questioned Internet service providers who control consumers' Web access over their networks, and suggested the agency could intervene against the practice.
Internet Wrecking Ball
Wall Street Journal, February 25, 2008
Ed Markey's (D., Mass.) Orwellian-named Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008, would foist network neutrality on the wild and woolly Internet. The Federal Communications Commission is holding a public hearing today at Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Mass., to build the case for the ill-conceived idea of preventing, as Mr. Markey's bill would, network operators from using technologies that may favor one application over another.
Comcast, Net Neutrality Advocates to Square Off Monday
ars technia, February 24, 2008
Big thinkers on net neutrality and big players in the war between P2P users and Comcast will face off this Monday at a public hearing at Harvard Law School on "broadband network management practices." The Federal Communications Commission has classified the event as an "en banc" meeting. For people who have not studied legal French, that means that all five FCC Commissioners will attend.
FCC Hits the Road to Hear Evidence on Web Network Management
CNN Money, February 24, 2008
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin said he was "troubled" by the serious allegations made against Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) over its broadband network management practices. Martin made the comment in an interview last week before he and the other members of the FCC's panel come here to Harvard University Law School Monday to hear evidence about network practices employed by Internet service providers.
Cable and Telcos Side with Comcast in FCC BitTorrent Dispute
ars technica, February 19, 2008
The race is on to get the last word in on the Comcast/BitTorrent controversy. With ten days left to file, telcos, trade, and advocacy groups are sending the Federal Communications Commission their statements on whether Comcast and other ISPs purposefully degrade peer to peer traffic, and if so, what to do about it. Not surprisingly, the debate pits broadband content providers and advocacy groups against the big telcos, cable companies, and their trade association backers.
Congress Considers New Net Neutrality Bill
PC World, February 16, 2008
Representatives Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Chip Pickering, a Mississippi Republican, introduced the Internet Freedom Preservation Act last week. The bill says it is U.S. policy to "guard against unreasonable discriminatory favoritism for, or degredation of, content by network operators based upon its source, ownership, or destination on the Internet."
Net Neutrality Once Again on the Front Burner
Communication Innovations: A Gartner Blog, February 15, 2008
While Markey's objective is laudable, the likely result, were this act to be approved, would have the opposite effect - dampening and restricting the freedom of the Internet. There is strong concern among industry and consumer interest groups that this is really a nefarious attempt to impose new regulations on Internet access providers.
Net Neutrality Gets Two Wins
WebProNews, February 15, 2008
Net Neutrality supporters got two major victories this week since the introduction of legislation designed to protect Internet users, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has scheduled a public hearing about the issue for later this month. Already the troops have gathered on both sides of the issue, some on grassroots, others on Astroturf.
BitTorrent, Vuze, Free Press Back Markey’s Net-Neutrality Bill
Broadcasting & Cable, February 14, 2008
BitTorrent chief technology officer Eric Klinker and other network neutrality backers Thursday were lining up behind Rep. Ed Markey's just-introduced bill that they say would write open-access principles into law. On a conference call with reporters, Klinker and representatives of Free Press and Vuze called Markey's bill the right legislation at the right time, saying that impeding peer-to-peer file sharing can stifle innovation and is anticompetitive since networks like Comcast’s compete directly with video services, or even single individuals, who use the service.
Net Neutrality Bill Would Preserve Internet Freedom
CIO Today, February 14, 2008
The Federal Communications Commission would be charged with keeping the Internet open under the Internet Freedom Preservation Act co-sponsored by Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass). The bill revives the issue of network neutrality as the FCC probes complaints of Internet blocking by Comcast and others.
The New Net Neut Lite
eWeek, February 14, 2008
Network neutrality re-emerged on Capitol Hill Feb. 13 as a political issue, although it is playing in the shallow end of the telecom reform pool. Call it network neutrality lite. Under legislation introduced by Democrat Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Mississippi Republican Chip Pickering, the Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality principles would be "enshrined" into law and become "guide stars" for U.S. broadband policy.
Officials Step Up Net-Neutrality Efforts
Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2008
Big broadband companies are headed for a clash with Washington over whether consumers have a right to get as much as they want from the Internet, as fast as they want it, without paying extra for the privilege. Complaints that cable titan Comcast Corp. is deliberately delaying some Internet traffic are prompting moves in Washington to block efforts by broadband providers to favor some kinds of Internet traffic over others.
Rep. Markey's Net Neutrality Legislation
Google Public Policy Blog, February 13, 2008
As we've discussed before on this blog, innovation has thrived online because the Internet's architecture enables any and all users to generate new ideas and technologies, which are allowed to succeed based on their own merits and benefits. Some major broadband service providers have threatened to act as gatekeepers, playing favorites with particular applications or content providers, demonstrating that this threat is all too real.
Markey Opens 2nd Round of Net Neutrality Fight
GigaOm, February 13, 2008
Ding! The second round of the Net Neutrality battle officially started today, with Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey’s introduction of H.R. 5353, a bill supporters are calling the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008.” Detractors, of course, will call it many other things, including a revival of 2006-era attempts to write Net Neutrality concepts into law.
New 'Net Neutrality Bill Surfaces in House
ars technica, February 13, 2008
According to a draft version of the bill that we've seen, the Act won't try to legislate network neutrality. Instead, it adds a "Broadband Policy" section to the Communications Act that lays out a few general principles. The bill would force the FCC to see if those principles are being lived up to and whether any policy changes might be needed. In other words, the Congressmen want the FCC to do something, but they aren't ready to completely overrule the Commission's judgment.
Bill Bars Web Traffic Discrimination
New York Times, February 13, 2008
A Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday proposed legislation to stop network providers from playing traffic cop on the Internet. Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's subcommittee on telecommunications and the Internet, introduced the bill to promote the principle, known as Net neutrality, of treating all Internet traffic equally.
Comcast FCC Filing Shows Gap between Hype, Bandwidth Reality
ars technica, February 13, 2008
Comcast has come clean to the FCC about its secretive traffic-management practices... not that Comcast thinks it has been keeping secrets. According to its 57-page filing, "experience suggests that Comcast needs to ensure that its disclosures on matters such as network management are timely and in sufficient detail to ensure transparency while not providing a roadmap to those who would seek to defeat its efforts at reasonable network management."
Comcast Defends Role As Internet Traffic Cop
Washington Post, February 13, 2008
Comcast said yesterday that it purposely slows down some traffic on its network, including some music and movie downloads, an admission that sparked more controversy in the debate over how much control network operators should have over the Internet.
Comcast Defends Web Traffic Methods
Reuters, February 13, 2008
Comcast Corp has told U.S. regulators it uses reasonable measures to manage traffic moving over its broadband service as some of its customers overwhelm the network by using file-sharing applications like BitTorrent. In an 80-page filing with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, Comcast gave its most detailed explanation of how it manages Internet traffic on its service, naming BitTorrent as prime culprit, but again denied it blocks content, applications or discriminates among providers.
Comcast Tweaks Terms of Service in Wake of Throttling Uproar
ars technica, February 7, 2008
Months after third parties were able to demonstrate that Comcast was throttling some BitTorrent (and Lotus Notes, since fixed) traffic, the cable giant has quietly changed its terms of service. Comcast updated the ToS on January 25—the first update in two years, according to company spokesperson Charlie Douglas—to more explicitly spell out its policies on traffic management.
Net Neutrality's Not Anti-Property, It's about Our Property
ars technica, February 3, 2008
It took 17 rounds, but when the FCC's $4.638 billion reserve was met late last week, it meant that the FCC's mandated open access rules would necessarily come into play. Under the proposed rules, 22MHz of the spectrum to be auctioned would be subject to open-access regulations, meaning that the company winning the auction would not be able to control what kind of devices are attached to the network or how the bandwidth is used.
Growth of P2P Leads IETF to Debate "Fair" Bandwidth Use
ars technica, December 5, 2007
Fairness becomes a bit of an issue when some users use interactive applications such as "pure" web browsing, while others use "unattended" applications such as programs that transfer large files in the background (think BitTorrent). The interactive applications send and receive a certain amount of data every so often, but most of the time the computer is waiting for the user to click on something. The unattended applications on the other hand, use as much bandwidth as they can the whole time that they run. So even though TCP is "fair" when the two types of users are both transferring data, the unattended users get to send or receive many times more data over the course of, say, a month.
Feature Reports
Net Neutrality, Again
Analyst Views Weekly, February 15, 2007
Though it never really went away, the debate over Net Neutrality has resurfaced recently in the press. There are two main reasons for the reappearance. One is the change of power in Congress; with control now in the hands of Democrats who are seen as more accepting of the idea of regulation, proponents of Net Neutrality are preparing to reintroduce legislation that stalled under Republican control. Another is the argument that due to the increase in bandwidth heavy applications and services such as video, the Internet's infrastructure is in need of an upgrade; network operators feel they have the right to recoup costs for this, if not from end users then from the content providers. Any debate for which the key terms cannot be defined acceptably for all sides is one that is likely to be both frustrating and long; Net Neutrality is no exception. Those on each side of this issue have been accused of replacing a factual debate with an emotional one; making finding the neutral ground from which a fruitful discussion can spring one of the most difficult things about it. However, one way or another this will have to be done.
Web Resources
Associations & Organizations
Free Press
Free Press is a national nonpartisan organization working to increase informed public participation in crucial media policy debates, and to generate policies that will produce a more competitive and public interest-oriented media system with a strong nonprofit and noncommercial sector.
Open Internet Coalition
The Internet has been the most successful platform for economic growth, innovation and discovery in our nation’s history. The Open Internet Coalition represents consumers, grassroots organizations, and businesses working in pursuit of a shared goal: keeping the Internet fast, open and accessible to all Americans.
The Progress & Freedom Foundation
The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. Its mission is to educate policymakers, opinion leaders and the public about issues associated with technological change, based on a philosophy of limited government, free markets and individual sovereignty.
SavetheInternet.com Coalition
The SavetheInternet.com Coalition is more than a million everyday people who have banded together with thousands of non-profit organizations, businesses and bloggers to protect Internet freedom. The Coalition believes that the Internet is a crucial engine for economic growth and free speech. They are working together to urge Congress to preserve Network Neutrality, the First Amendment of the Internet, which ensures that the Internet remains open to new ideas, innovation and progress.
