The major telecoms and cable companies that fund you–yes, YOU, Mr. Sock Puppet–are antithetical to innovation, unless it brings in profit. Many startups–including those you mention–will not see profit any time soon, but they succeed because they’re using the Internet to create new ideas and new business models. Ma Bell and her spawn have ever only been about preserving the old way of doing things and preventing real innovation–and competition–from disturbing their profit base.

Try again.

When you’re talking about Net Neutrality, you’re essentially arguing that we should assure the same kind of structure we’ve had up until now. Somehow you seem to be suggesting that regulations that would make it the way it already is would have stifled innovation, whereas some mythical world where it was … different … would have helped things evolve better … like they actually did?

In essence, you’re trying to create a perception that is the reverse of reality. You’re trying to portray those who want to change things as championing leaving it alone and you’re trying to paint those who want to prevent pro-corporate changes as purveyors of anti-market change. War is Peace.

I’m sorry, you’re not being even vaguely coherent, and all this claptrap about “caution” is a ruse designed to make you look reasonable and thoughtful instead of what you really are, which is a paid AT&T sock puppet.

Come on, man, TCS is a known right-wing corporate outlet. Of course they’ll slant the article to make it seem like there’s no problem.

Here’s the thing–the FCC and FTC want to engage an after-the-fact, rear guard action to address antitrust violations if content is blocked. Fair enough, though I have my doubts about their desire and ability to effectively do so, given Kevin Martin and Deborah Majoras’ excessive friendliness to corporate interests.

But this is bigger. This is a preemptive strike designed to change the face of the Internet. The NN issue has opened the door to real discussions about improving our Internet capabilities for the nation. What we’re looking for is forward-thinking new ideas, since the current state of market monopoly is clearly not cutting the mustard.

We’re not waiting for the hurricane to hit to close the barn door anymore.

Of the 10,000 comments received by the FCC about net neutrality, “none…offers any significant empirical evidence to suggest that there currently exists a “market failure” or other systemic problem justifying regulatory intervention in the name of net neutrality.”

As I always say, these years may turn out to be the Golden Age of the Internet. I pray that I’m wrong, but we may look back at the freedom with a nostalgia soured by regret at what we let get away.

I’ll start calling my congresspeople (as I did with Internet radio, which we got a brief stay on).

unfortunately THE BUSH FCC PLANS TO AUCTION OFF THE LIONS SHARE of this valuable infrastructure, mostly to AT&T and Verizon.

we have to claim our own airwaves for ourselves. and so write your congressman and tell him you do not want to lose even more valuable bandwidth to monopolistic phone companies.

With all government data (including Budgets) in such a format, then the original intent of the Founders and the institutional intent of creating the data would assure (as least a little) that an aware citizenry could not just have a say, but an intelligent say in what got done and how.

By playing with the gadget, real facts jump out that might easily go unnoticed, or unknown as most folks eyes would glaze over from the raw data. Imagine what you would see if you could see budget data that way.

Perhaps asymmetric pricing is better. Licensing areas of high value should cost more than areas of low value … just like property. That way some low-cost startup might see a Bottom of the Pyramid opportunity in aggregating services to the poor.

“Forcing” is never going to work as well as “profiting”.

And that stiff contract breaking fee – I wonder if they dropped me from service if I could charge them a stiff fee?

Oh, and how about repeal of all or most of the telecom act of 1996? I don’t want to let the cable companies off the hook….And I want something besides the “all snoring sleepers” channel when they jack up my cable bill another 5 bucks every quarter….

Your situations are exactly why this is important. The Internet is not a playground for the rich–it belongs to all of us, and it shouldn’t be distributed simply on the basis of profit.

I am really hoping that WiMax will land in my city, although a couple of years ago, a former legislator in cahoots with Alltel made that nearly impossible by making it -illegal- for WiMax to be utilized in my city. Yes, greed rules all. I plan to grab a legislator’s ear and see what we can do to repeal that law- my city -needs- municipal WiFi if it hopes to be on a level playing field with other cities of its size.

Countries like South Korea, Japan, and a large swath of Europe are very far ahead of the US in terms of speed, penetration, and price of broadband. We are being left further and further behind while we sink into another Gilded Age with a new set of robber barons using the government as a means to keep us broke and miserable. When did we slip from a first world country to a second? We’re ‘redlining’ ourselves.

As someone who’s been redlined, I appreciate that aspect of your missive. Thanks.

DrD

Not only does it big MATTER to me, but I am willing to leave home, walk with signs, carry a megaphone and be a pest in the name of FREE SPEECH.

Thanks to the author for some great clarity and contribution to the very scary times we live in.

Jon Adelstein and Mike Copps are good fighters for the common man on the FCC, but they’re outnumbered 3-2 by Republicans. Kevin Martin is responsible for some of the most telecom-favorable policy decisions I’ve ever seen–he makes Michael Powell look like an antitrust lawyer.

And as for HOTI trolls and their astroturf allies in other sectors, I just say this: You better bring your A-game if you want to troll here, because we’re not new at this, and we WILL out you–and then take your arguments apart piece by grisly piece. So think carefully before you step in the arena.