IP: Internet "facilities" (fwd)

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> To: CYBERTELECOM-L () LISTSERV AOL COM
> From: A.M.Rutkowski <amr () NGI ORG>
> Subject: Internet "facilities"
> Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 07:42:31 -0400
>
> Washington industry committees dealing with Internet related
> issues in telecom forums are becoming ever more frequent.
> ICAIS (ITU Internet settlements norms are an example).
>
> The dialogue typically involves lots of people familiar
> with the telecom regulatory world.  Frequently, many have
> only minimal cognizance about the Internet.
>
> As a result a kind of Internet regulatory "lingo" seems to
> be creeping into place that is not only inaccurate, but also
> potentially adverse to those in the Internet business because
> it predisposes the Internet to regulation.
>
> The current case in point is the fundamental characterization
> of the Internet as consisting of facilities and users.  The
> term "facilities" in the telecom and radio regulatory world
> if not the arena of administrative law in general - is one
> that since the origins of these activities is the most basic
> predicate for regulation.
>
> For example, the ITU Constitution frames the organization's
> purposes in terms of dealing with "technical facilities" and
> "telecommunication facilities."
>
> The Internet on the other hand - which is fundamentally sets
> of protocols for interprocess communication - consists of
> "resources."  The Internet has hosts, ports, processes,
> applications, and files; but there is no such thing as an
> "Internet facility."
>
> This "regulatory creep" is worth some attention.  The last
> thing that anyone in the Internet business needs is for the
> Internet to be recast as just another form of telecommunication
> ripe for regulation.
>
> --tony