Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Justice Department says ISPs are like the Post Office

  As reported on TechCrunch , Department of Justice said imposing Net neutrality regulations could "could deter broadband Internet providers from upgrading and expanding their networks to reach more Americans." Chief amongst their examples was that the one of the oldest data delivery systems, the U.S. Postal Service, charges customers differently based on guarantees and speeds of delivery, ranging from bulk mail to overnight. Similarly, the Department believes ISPs who deliver data packages, should be able to offer different levels of service to spread the costs of improving networks. I still think this analogy clouds the issue. As one commenter noted, the Post Office generally charges for the size and weight of the package and the guaranteed speed of delivery. Sometimes first class mail gets there in a day or two, sometimes it doesn't. If you want guarantees, you pay. If you want to ship a large package, you pay as well. What they're missing here is that the providers already... Posted Sep 12 2007, 04:00 PM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Net Neutrality

• Refocusing Net Neutrality

  Awhile back, I echoed the electricity analogy : the problem is that the "telecoms are threatening to charge a premium for how the utility is used, instead of how much of it is used." Someone from the Hands Off the Internet Coalition commented on that post. Tim, the analogy is flawed and doesn't make sense. Unlike electricity, the internet and e-commerce sector is growing exponentially. It seems that the telecoms are already implementing some of Lessig's points on usage but our entire internet's infrastructure must undergo a series of major upgrades that net neutrality laws will slow down, further relegating the US the slow lane (no pun intended). Net neutrality is simply a distraction. I work with the Hands Off the Internet Coalition and I don't think we should be adding rules and regulations to fix a problem that doesn't exist. More recently, Andrew pointed to a rebuttal by David Cowan : ISPs are not public utilities; they are businesses whose owners–including individual investors and... Posted Jun 04 2007, 01:36 PM by Tim with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Rants, Things that bother me, Google, Video, Net Neutrality

• Net Neutrality, Abuse of Market Power, and Conflicts of Interest

  Craig Newmark on Net Neutrality back in Oct 2006 ( via 37 Signals ): Here's a real world example that shows how this would work. Let's say you call Joe's Pizza and the first thing you hear is a message saying you'll be connected in a minute or two, but if you want, you can be connected to Pizza Hut right away. That's not fair, right? You called Joe's and want some Joe's pizza. Well, that's how some telecommunications executives want the Internet to operate, with some Web sites easier to access than others. For them, this would be a money-making regime. As I've mentioned in the past, I'm generally against regulation on the Internet, but I feel strongly that the Internet should remain neutral. Hopefully, that can be achieved through the market, but if not, then regulation may be necessary. The troubling thing for me here is the power this gives to the gatekeepers. If they decide they like Yahoo! more than Google (e.g., for personal or political reasons), they can make it happen - even if... Posted Apr 04 2007, 07:28 AM by Tim with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Things that bother me, Business, Law, Net Neutrality, Politics

• AT&T reluctantly adopts Net Neutrality

  AT8t has relucantly adopted the principles behind Net Neutrality as a condition for its merger with Bell South. Regardless of how you feel about regulation of the internet, the ideal of a non-discriminating network is a good goal. This may just be a step in the right direction without having to ask the clueless politicians to step in. Posted Jan 19 2007, 05:37 AM by Tim with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Law, Net Neutrality

• Net Neutrality: The Electicity Analogy

  Brian has one of the best analogies I've seen in the net neutrality debate . ( via Lessig ). "What the telecoms are threatening to do", he says, "is to charge a premium for how the utility is used, not for how much of it is used." Posted Jan 03 2007, 07:14 AM by Tim with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Technology, Law, Net Neutrality