IP Democracy: Net Neutrality Rises Following FCC DSL Decision

The FCC’s decision last week to classify DSL as an information service, freeing phone companies from any obligation to provide competitors with access to their high-speed facilities, continues to mobilize opposition. The Wall Street Journal today has a front page piece on the rise of “net neutrality” following this Commission ruling. Penned by Amy Schatz and Anne Marie Squeo, the article rehashes small telco Madison River’s effort to block Vonage phone calls.

More interestingly, the piece recaps efforts by the High Tech Coalition, a group of six big tech supplier trade associations, to influence the Commission’s DSL decision, with Silicon Valley players hoping to persuade FCC Chairman Kevin Martin on adopting net neutrality rules at the last minute. Amazon apparently even draft an 18-page net neutrality brief.

No newbies to the prospect of a Washington firestorm giving way to legislative nastiness, the phone and cable industries are working on voluntary net neutrality guidelines in the hopes of derailing legislation that might codify mandatory net neutrality requirements.

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on August 8, 2005 8:13 AM to IP Democracy