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more on Another Net Neutrality question...


From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2006 15:03:00 -0400



Begin forwarded message:

From: Gerry Faulhaber <gerry-faulhaber () mchsi com>
Date: June 1, 2006 2:00:47 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] Another Net Neutrality question...

[for IP, if you wish]

Good job spotting this trend, Hiawatha. We have seen the future and it is private networks?

Remember that old maxim that the Internet sees censorship as a network outage and routes around it? Well, how about a new maxim: network operators will see legal constraints on the traditional Internet as a flaw and they will build around it?

Let's call it the Othernet. And will somebody please tell me how we got here?

Professor Gerald R. Faulhaber
Business and Public Policy Dept.
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Professor of Law
University of Pennsylvania Law School

----- Original Message ----- From: "David Farber" <dave () farber net>
To: <ip () v2 listbox com>
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2006 11:38 AM
Subject: [IP] Another Net Neutrality question...




Begin forwarded message:

From: h_bray () globe com
Date: June 1, 2006 11:15:37 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Another Net Neutrality question...

...this one asked in my role as tech reporter. I'm doing a story on the matter. It'll be straight down the middle, no sides taken. But there's an
aspecr of this issue that I haven't seen addressed, and I'm hoping the
hypersmart people on the list can tidy it up for me.

We keep talking about a two-tiered Internet. I may have helped establish that meme with a story I did on this issue a couple months ago. But is
that really what's happening?  Can't one just as easily argue that the
"premium" broadband tier isn't really the Internet at all?

Imagine that Verizon, without using the "I" word, had decided to build a new high-speed private data network to millions of homes. They'd use this
network to carry TV signals, as well as a variety of computer data
services. The network would use TCP/IP technology, but would run entirely
over Verizon's prvately owned hardware.

If Verizon had done such a thing, would anyone argue that the company was obligated to share this network with others, without charging them usage
fees?  Wouldn't we shrug and say that since Verizon spent the billions
needed to build the network, they could do with it as they pleased?

But this is pretty much what's happening now, isn't it? This second tier of Internet service is really more like a private network. It's not so
much a bifurcation of the Internet, but a complete departure from it.
Looked at that way, why shouldn't the broadband providers charge use fees
to other data services?




Hiawatha Bray
Technology Reporter
Boston Globe
135 Morrissey Blvd.
P.O. Box 55819
Boston, MA 02205-5819 USA
617-929-3119 voice
617-929-3183 fax
617-233-9419 cell
bray () globe com
watha () monitortan com
Recent writings: www.boston.com/business/technology/bray



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