Neutral Net: A Battle for Control of the Web Wall Street Journal
June 24, 2006; Page A9 http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB115111284505289701.html THE MAIN EVENT Next week, the Senate will jump into a heated debate that divides the titans of the new economy -- companies like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo -- from those of the old -- AT&T, Verizon, Time Warner and Comcast. * * * The issue is "net neutrality," and it has to do with how much control the companies that build the Internet pipelines -- mostly telephone and cable companies -- should have over the content that runs through those pipelines and whether they can force content providers to pay for the privilege. The Internet is set up so that users can use any legal Web site or application, and all Internet traffic is treated equally. But downloading a two-hour video eats up far more bandwidth, or space on the Internet pipeline, than an email. Telephone and cable companies have suggested they may start charging fees to Internet-content companies, like Google, whose content is eating up large portions of their bandwidth. Companies that refuse to pay might find their content moving at slower speeds over the pipeline than the content of those that do pay. Last month, the House of Representatives voted against a provision that would have prevented cable and phone companies from implementing such a pricing system. However, the House supported a separate provision that, if passed by the Senate, would make it illegal for Internet-service providers to block consumers from viewing or using legal online content and would give the Federal Communications Commission the authority to police violations. Who favors net neutrality, and why? Most software and Internet companies have joined the cause. Also, they have found valuable allies at both ends of the political spectrum, from the AFL-CIO to the Christian Coalition, who want to make sure that no one has the power to stop them from distributing their content over the Internet. Proponents worry that unless net neutrality is enshrined into law, broadband providers will try to block or degrade Internet access for some content and services, particularly those, like online television streams or Internet phone service, that compete with the phone and cable companies. Proponents cite the example of Internet phone company Vonage, which faced a problem last year when North Carolina Internet-service provider Madison River, which is also a telephone firm, used its control of the network to block some consumers from making calls using Vonage. Madison was later fined by the FCC. More recently, some net-neutrality proponents have accused Cox Communications, which operates a cable system and newspapers, of blocking access to Craigslist, which competes with newspapers by offering online classified advertisements. Cox says that was the result of an unintentional glitch in some security software that is now being fixed. Who opposes net neutrality, and why? The big phone companies, like AT&T and Verizon Communications, and the big cable companies, like Time Warner and Comcast, argue there's no need for the government to get involved in regulating their business. They say they have no intention, nor would it be in their business interests, to block anyone's access to the Internet. But given the huge costs involved in building and expanding the broadband Internet pipeline, they don't see why content providers, whose business depends on building out the pipeline, should be protected by the government from paying part of the cost. Opponents point out there are few examples of network providers blocking content from competing Web companies. Moreover, they say, the FCC has the authority to penalize any company that does so, as it did in the Madison River case. --Compiled by Amir Efrati * * * POINTS OF VIEW "The Internet as we know it is facing a serious threat. Today the Internet is an information highway where anybody -- no matter how large or small, how traditional or unconventional -- has equal access. But the phone and cable monopolies, who control almost all Internet access, want the power to choose who gets access to high-speed lanes and whose content gets seen first and fastest." -- Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt "What if a cable company with a pro-choice board of directors decides that it doesn't like a pro-life organization using its high-speed network to encourage pro-life activities? Under the new rules, they could slow down the pro-life Web site, harming their ability to communicate with other pro-lifers -- and it would be legal." -- Roberta Combs, president of Christian Coalition of America "We and the cable companies have made an investment, and for a Google or Yahoo or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes free is nuts." --AT&T Chief Executive Edward Whitacre "This is a vigorously competitive marketplace that is working to benefit consumers. There is no need for new laws and regulations." --David L. Cohen, a Comcast executive vice president * * * FACTS A U.S. Internet user with a typical cable-Internet service pays about $12 for one-megabit-per-second of download speed each month, compared with $4.20 in France and $1.73 in Japan, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Internet-service providers say a small percentage of subscribers use most of their total bandwidth. In 2003, 6% of Comcast subscribers used 78% of the company's bandwidth. As of May, 143 million Americans used the Internet at home, 72% of which had a broadband (high-speed) connection, according to Nielsen/NetRatings. In 2005, the Federal Communications Commission fined Mebane, N.C., Internet-service provider and phone company Madison River $15,000 for blocking its DSL customers from using rival Web-based phone service Vonage. Net-neutrality proponents enlisted the support of musicians Moby and REM's Michael Stipe, and a trio known as The Broadband, which released a song called "God Save the Internet" about the recent debate. Between 1996 and 2005, the cable industry spent $105.3 billion in capital expenditures, which included new fiber-optic cables that deliver television, phone and broadband Internet, according to Kagan Research. ================================================= George Antunes Voice (713) 743-3923 Associate Professor Fax (713) 743-3927 Political Science Internet: antunes at uh dot edu University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-3011 Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list medianews@twiar.org To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
