[OT] The Internet (that Ben says does not exist) and Net Neutrality

Ted Roche tedroche at tedroche.com
Sun May 21 15:45:01 EDT 2006


There is an amazing amount of furor going on over this, and that  
tells me there is a lot of money on the table.

Yet another astroturf organization, handsofftheinternet (I won't give  
them yet another link), is screaming, well, "Hands Off The Internet!"  
of course, and is a "grassroots coalition" of AT&T, BellSouth,  
Cingular, and... hey, isn't that suspicious?

SaveTheInternet.com on the other hand, is the most unlikely  
assortment of members: Gun Owners of America, MoveOn.org, The  
American Library Association, InstaPundit, The Christian Coalition,  
The Feminist Majority, ... you gotta wonder.

Isn't it time to recognize that a company selling "internet access"  
ought to be offering some standardized service, or at least some  
baseline, and not blocking services that would compete with their own  
premium offerings?

Are or should internet providers be "common carriers?" Can the  
decision be "left to the marketplace" when cable companies get  
exclusive monopolies on service and Aunt Tillie wouldn't have a clue  
what to ask for or even whether there are CLECs available to offer  
her the services she needs?

Ted Roche
Ted Roche & Associates, LLC
http://www.tedroche.com





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