It's A Series Of Tubes!!!! - Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality: Round 2

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:05:50 -0600

Well, I guess we should give this another shot, eh?

The new bill calls on the FCC to convene at least eight “broadband summits” to collect public input on a variety of policies “that will promote openness, competition, innovation, and affordable, ubiquitous broadband service for all individuals in the United States.”

Taking the issue outside the Beltway — and beyond the corrosive influence of telecom lobbyists — is an encouraging sign for communities across the country that stand to benefit from the enormous economic and social benefits of an open Internet.

Big phone and cable companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner have padded the pockets of Washington lawyers, lobbyists and shills to kill Net Neutrality and pave the way for “network management” practices that allow blocking of certain content in favor of Web sites and services the companies prefer.

Here's hoping it amounts to something.

Link: Save the Internet Blog » Blog Archive » Internet Bill a Blow to the Gatekeepers

Technorati Tags: series of tubes, net neutrality, save the internet

Net Neutrality Summit

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:45:17 -0600

Well, here's something to tide you over...

Should Internet Service Providers continue to drive the same “neutral” course, giving all search requests and other uses of the Net equal treatment? Absent legislation, will these ISP’s create Internet “toll roads,” giving preference to certain types of information? It is these types of questions that are at the heart of the debate on Net Neutrality.

The University of San Francisco Intellectual Property Law Bulletin is proud to present The Toll Roads? The Legal and Political Debate Over Net Neutrality to held January 26, 2008, at the Fromm Institute on the University of San Francisco main campus. The Symposium will be a gathering where the legal community will join together with political scientists, economists, communications experts and students to engage in a day of presentation and discussion of the issues surrounding Network Neutrality.

Link: Net Neutrality 2008: About

Today (6/15/07) Last Day To Comment on Neutrality

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 09:14:57 -0500

Nearly a year to the day of Senator Ted Stevens' infamous utterance (something about 'opening your mouth and removing all doubt' comes to mind) today is the last day to file your comments on net neutrality.

Friday marks the final day for citizens, corporations, and paid spinmeisters alike to file comments with government regulators on Net Neutrality, a principle that ISPs should treat internet traffic equally. As ISPs like Comcast and AT&T increasingly offer and bundle internet video and voice services, internet activists want rules to prevent the carriers from making their services run faster on their own network than external companies.

ISPs counter that packets are doing just fine, rules will prevent them from building really fast networks and the market will sort it all out. It's not the simplest battle, since one may be in favor of having all packets (or all kinds of similar packets like video, email, and IM) treated in the same manner, without believing that Congress should be writing rules. The market might be good enough, or maybe strong principles from government regulators who are willing to make examples of scoflaws is enough. Or maybe even ISPs should be filtering the internet on behalf of copyright holders.

Remember this ain't so much about the ISP's controlling what packets go across their internets networks, its about others paying them for priority access to those tubes pipes. Packets to the highest bidders. Say No.

File your own internet in this tube, as Wired puts it. Don't use a truck.

Link: Threat Level - Wired Blogs

Technorati Tags: series of tubes, net neutrality, congress, fcc, comments, ted stevens, not a truck

How About "WestinghouseNet?" "TeslaNet?"

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:46:45 -0500

So um, here's a take on Net Neutrality that I understand, but I think there's a spot of irony here that's unavoidable.

Net neutrality is both necessary and workable for what I call Jeffersonet, which comprises the âclassicalâ, bandwidth-light parts of the Internet.
...

Network neutrality opponents, however, point to evolving and future
technologies, technically more demanding than what the current Internet
can well support. Their uses are centered on what I call Edisonet
â communication-rich applications such as entertainment, gaming,
telephony, telemedicine, teleteaching, or telemeetings of all kinds.

I'd say you're right about one thing, the comparison to the "new" internet to Edison. If history also has anything to say about Edison, it was that he was a litigious bastard, who tried to sue and bring down any "competitors" that he could. Go ahead and look up the battle between himself and Nikola Tesla. Among others.

Fact: Did you know that the lightbulb as we know it today, along with the entire AC power distribution system was not brought about by Edison, but by Mr. Westinghouse? Edison was an ardent advocate of powering the grid on DC, which would have proved nearly impossible, and his lightbulb was a DC powered creation, operating on sheer heat alone.

So, "Edisonet," learn from history. Eventually you will be replaced with something better, and easier to implement, operate, and maintain. Your "Unneutral" Net will be about as feasible (and useful) as a DC power grid.

Link: The Monash ReportÂ»Blog Archive Â» The two Internets, Jeffersonet and Edisonet, and why they need to be regulated differently

Rock!

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 10:54:15 -0500

What? A post!? Here?

Looks like even the big (well, OK smallerish kinda) media boys don't want the tel/cableco's getting their filthy hands all over their internets, either!

Rep. Edward Markey, who chairs the House Subcommittee on
Telecommunications and the Internet, said if Internet providers are
allowed to start charging fees for preferential treatment then it will
stifle innovation across many industries, not just music.

"This is nothing more than a new bottleneck fee, a corporate broadband
tax that will discriminate against less powerful voices and those
unable or unwilling to pay such discriminatory fees," he said during
the teleconference.

Couldn't have said it better myself. And this from one of Sen. Stevens cohorts in Congress no less! Maybe there is hope!

Link: Musicians: Keep the Web neutral - CNN.com

Technorati Tags: series of tubes, net neutrality, rock the net

Here We Go Again!

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 07:32:32 -0600

Hold on to your hats, folks. The madness begins anew.

On January 9th, Republican Senator Olympia Snowe and Democrat Byron Dorgan reintroduced the Internet Freedom Preservation act to the Senate. Better known as the Net Neutrality Act, the bill was killed by the Senate last year in a vote split down party lines (Democrats yea, Republicans nay), with the exception of Senator Snowe. With the Democrats having a slight majority in the Senate, the bill certainly has a better chance this time around, but it still needs 60 votes to prevent a Republican filibuster.

Hopefully saner minds will prevail and we can put this puppy to sleep once and for all.

Link: Net Neutrality Act Once Again on the Agenda

Technorati Tags: net neutrality, series of tubes, not a truck, internet freedom preservation act

Meanwhile, On Board the Botany Bay

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:37:12 -0600

"On Earth, 30 some odd years ago, I was a prince. With fame and power..." Oh wait. Not that Kahn.

Not sure what to make of this, Robert Kahn, co-creator of TCP/IP is claiming that net neutrality legislation is wrong? I wonder if he truly understands the nature of the beast in the cage....

I mean, I can understand his point about innovation and whatnot, and truth-be-told, I'm not against local providers prioritizing traffic from their own sources. Like for example video-over-IP on a cable TV/IP network, or VOIP on a telco's DSL network, or something similar. They're fully within their rights to do so. Like it or not, people. I think most would agree with that.

The problem is when those providers would take it to the next level, and begin charging or "selling" that prioritization or exclusivity to outside parties, like Microsoft, Google, the NSA or whomever. Then it becomes traffic and access for the highest bidder, and THAT is where most everyone's beef with this concept lies. I would hope that he would feel the same.

Link: Father of internet warns against Net Neutrality | The Register

Technorati Tags: net neutraliy, robert kahn, series of tubes

(And yes I know about the whole "tubes implemented" thing. I chose not to report it because I felt it silly and unrelated.)

Won The Battle, But The War Is Far From Over

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 18:57:33 -0600

Looks like the end of the road for Senator Stevens' "Series of Tubes" bill as the current congress adjourns.

(And there was much rejoicing...yea!)

Bad news is a new crop of loonies will be coming in, and I'm sure will bring us lots of laughs to come.

Save the Internet Blog Â» Blog Archive Â» Huge Victory for Real People as Telco Bill Dies

Technorati Tags: series of tubes, ted stevens, net neutrality, congress, circus midgets

The Really Important Part of Net Neutrality

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 09:54:33 -0600

In this piece, we see what would happen to online gaming if the bigco's have their way. You could probably insert your favorite non-standard traffic type in their as well. Rsync, ssh, (rsync over ssh!! oh noes!) the list is endless!

Just so long as they don't throttle my ET traffic! "Too many air strikes requested!" indeed!

Link: A New Take on Net Neutrality

Technorati Tags: net neutrality, gaming, throttling, traffic, disarm the dynamite!

No Sound Grasp? Tell Me More!

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 11:43:21 -0500

This just in from the internets!

...Politicians have no sound grasp of technology issues...

Really. [insert long knowing pause]

"Prime ministers and home secretaries are notorious for grandstanding
on technology issues, while at the same time having difficulty setting
their video recorders at home," said Davies.

Glad to know its not just a local problem...

Link: Chris Patten: Politicians have no grasp of technology - Business - News - ZDNet Asia

Technorati Tags: internets, series of tubes, politicians, technology, obvious

Net Neutrality Knots

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 19:27:30 -0500

Say that five times fast

It's Our Net Coalition member Art Brodsky writes that the anti-Net Neutrality alliance between the giant telephone companies and their almost as huge cable company partners is starting to fray around the coaxial cable. It seems the cable companies think that the telephone companies put them at a disadvantage. And yet they fail to see the irony of their own Net Neutrality stance. It's hard to know who to root for on this one. Here is Art's take:

Link: Itâs Our Net

Technorati Tags: net neutrality, cable companies, fcc, cablevision, ncta

I'll Take Kidney Infection Please

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Thu, 21 Sep 2006 08:35:39 -0500

...and make it a particularly bad one. Apparently the Tedster has latched onto the effectively useless poll as the word of God or something, and is using it as evidence of what the people want. Oy.

Put that back on the truck there, Ted.

Which of the following two items do you think is the most important to you: Delivering the benefits of new TV and video choice so consumers will see increased competition and lower prices for cable TV? OR Enhancing Internet neutrality by barring high speed internet providers from offering specialized services like faster speed and increased security for a fee?

Best quote from the STI blog:

As Matt Stoller wrote, âthe rest of the questionnaire is similarly structured along the lines of âdo you want lots and lots of pie or would you like a kidney infectionâ.â

Link: Save the Internet Blog Â» Blog Archive Â» Senator Stevens Spams for the Telcos

Technorati Tags: net neutrality, ted stevens, series of tubes, wtf, kidney infection

Wha? Science at Work I Guess

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:08:41 -0500

Now, I'm not a pollster by any stretch of the imagination, but isn't 800 kind of a small sample? I wonder what the demo of that 800 was....

And to call it "onerous" is just going over the top...

A nationwide survey of 800 registered voters is being touted by the
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation because it
purports to show that Americans are not interested in net neutrality
legislation. Calling proposed net neutrality "onerous," the Committee's
press materials say that the poll makes it clear that Americans prefer
"video choice" over such regulations.

My god. Especially when you consider how biased this thing was...

When pollsters introduced the concept to poll takers, they described it
solely as "enhancing Internet neutrality by barring high speed internet
providers from offering specialized services like faster speed and
increased security for a fee."

**Shudder**

Link: Poll: Americans don't want net neutrality (or maybe they don't know what it is)

Technorati Tags: net neutrality, poll, senate, commerce commitee, bias, scientific results

When I Say Woe, I Mean WOE!

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 20:52:54 -0500

Some of the more interesting bullet points:

Approximately one out of 10 households with incomes below $30,000
reported having high-speed Internet access, but six out of every 10
households with incomes above $100,000 had broadband.
The most important factors explaining the digital divide among nations
are household income and poverty â not population density.
Consumers in other countries enjoy broadband connections that are far
faster and cheaper than what is available here. U.S. consumers pay
nearly twice as much as the Japanese for connections that are 20 times
as slow.

Gee, and people are somehow shocked at the notion that corporations aren't after their own interests... and nothing else.

Link: Free Press : Press Release

Technorati Tags: net neutrality, ah come on woe!, broadband, digital divide

19 Months

nospam@example.com (TubeMaster) — Tue, 12 Sep 2006 19:14:06 -0500

Cripes has it been that long since this whole net neutrality thing started? That's like, what, a year or something?!

In all seriousness, this would be good news. Bad news for this site! But good news for the internet.

Link: Net Neutrality 'May Well' Kill Bill, Says Stevens - 9/12/2006 11:11:00 AM - Broadcasting & Cable

Technorati Tags: net neutrailty, ted stevens, only a bill, on capitol hill