Number 293 - October 2007

Net Neutrality: It's Time For Us To Speak Out!
Linda Gonse (Editor(at)orcopug.org), Editor: Orange County IBM PC Users' Group(www.orcopug.org)
What is 'Net Neutrality?    Briefly, "Net Neutrality" ( short for Network Neutrality) is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. "It means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination," according to savetheinternet.com.    "Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It protects the consumer's right to use any equipment, content, application or service on a non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider. With Net Neutrality, the network's only job is to move data--not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service." Why is Net Neutrality an issue?    It's an issue because it involves the transmission of data over broadband networks ( e.g. DSL or cable internet services). As the number of sites on the Internet continues to grow and the quality of data becomes more sophisticated--encompassing video and audio files and other multimedia applications--broadband service providers (generally cable and phone com panies) are seeking to regulate how material flows to users through their increasingly taxed networks. For most large providers, this has come down to one general desire: They could establish a tiered system of content delivery in which companies with data-heavy content can pay a fee to the providers in return for "special treatment" in transmission. However, advocates project, this also would allow large telecom companies to block or censor things they don't like without consequence.    Moreover, colleges worry that research and distance education could be left behind if broadband companies are allowed to favor certain content. (The implications go far beyond open access:) The Internet-for-hire.has profound implications for education, library and publishing Services in general. And for users, there is either a future of poor service, or additional costs, or some combination of the two. Low and fixed income internet users' would lose their access equality. What is being done to preserve Net Neutrality?    In a nutshell, nothing permanent has been done to pass a law to ensure freedom of the Internet. It is still a gigantic struggle of ordinary Internet users, educational institutions, online companies--such as Amazon and Google--non-profit companies, and others, against the massive lobbying efforts of the largest telecommunIcation companies.    Events that have unfolded since Net Neutrality became a significant issue include:    "This past summer (2006), Congress took up the issue. Following a huge lobbying campaign by both sides, including millions spent by the cable and phone corporations, the House voted down an amendment to the Act that would have made the Federal Communications Commission responsible for enforcing neutrality. In the Senate, a similar amendment was defeated in	committee, but net neutrality legislators managed to table a vote on the telecommunications bill indefinitely in hopes that they can somehow force the issue back to the forefront," Bill Moyers, a respected news commentator and journalist, said on the PBS site at http://tinyurl.com/yhx7lz.    In January of this year, a bill was introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe and Byron Dorgan to amend the Communications Act of. 1934, which will ensure all content is treated equally and fairly on the Internet. The law also requires providers to offer consumers broadband Internet access that is not bundled with other services like phone, cable or VoIP. The title of theIr bill is the Internet Freedom Preservation Act.    In March, the discussion over Internet governance continued on Capitol Hill. All five FCC commissioners testified in front of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.    In May, the bill passed the House Judiciary Committee: 20-13.    In a June 2007 report, the Federal Trade Commission urged restraint with respect to the new regulations proposed by network neutrality advocates, noting the "broadband industry is a relatively young and evolving one," and given no "significant market failure or demonstrated consumer harm from conduct by broadband providers," such regulations "may well have adverse effects on consumer welfare, despite the good intentions of their proponents."    We've already had a taste of what can happen if telecommunication companies are handed authority to create tiered service and to have authority over what users can access. Before any decisions have been made, AT&T censored lyrics critical of Bush twice this month during Pearl Jam webcast concerts! http://tinyurl.com/2gqv4n. This foreshadows what we can expect if Net Neutrality is not made into law permanently.    Pearl Jam appears to feel the same way. "AT&T's actions strike at the heart of the public' s concerns over the power that that corporations have when it comes to determining what the public sees and hears through communications media," they said.    Bill Moyers provides background and details on the subject at: http://tinyurl.com/hfyb3. A video segment from Moyers on America PBS show, titled "The Net at Risk," illustrates the remarkable, but unlikely, cross-section of allies on the issue at http://tinyurl.com/yuylej    There are also links to several articles and videos on the main page of our website: http://www.orcopug.org What can you do to support Net Neutrality?    Internet Neutrality advocates are pushing for people to sign an online petition. One of them is at: http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet. The petition says: Congress must preserve a free and open Internet. Please vote for enforceable network neutrality and keep tollbooths, gatekeepers, and discrimination off my Internet.
Number 293 - October 2007