IP Democracy: Martin Not in Favor of Net Neutrality Regs

Not much of a surprise here, but FCC Chairman Kevin Martin isn’t in favor of net neutrality regulations. Marketwatch’s David Wilkerson has this write-up of comments made by Martin yesterday at Globalcomm.

Martin said that while it’s not OK for broadband providers to block Internet content or services, network operators should be able to offer differentiated services. However, Martin seemed to be talking about tiers of varying speeds of broadband service, which, I think, even the most ardent network neutrality proponents would agree are acceptable.

“Consumers need to be able to access all the content that’s available over the Internet without being impeded by the access provider,” Martin said. “But at the same time, we recognized that the people that are deploying these networks may offer differentiated speeds and differentiated products to the consumer.

“And if you offer different tiers of speeds, a consumer chooses the lowest tier, and he wants to access content that would require higher speeds than he has purchased, he’s not being blocked from access. He just hasn’t purchased the speed that’s necessary.”

Posted by Cynthia Brumfield on June 6, 2006 4:07 PM to IP Democracy