Dems Launch Net Neutrality Bill, GOP Says "Hands Off the Poor ISPs!"

Wilson Rothman — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:00:00 EDT

Yesterday on Capitol Hill, two Democratic representatives introduced a House bill that would require broadband ISPs to "interconnect with the facilities of other network providers on a reasonable and nondiscriminatory basis." It also requires them to treat all content, applications and services as the same, with "equal opportunity to reach consumers," says an IDG story in the New York Times. Any ISPs who start messing around with packets could be subject to antitrust enforcement. Republicans weren't so happy with the bill.

The Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act is sponsored by Michigan Democratic Representative John Conyers (who happens to be chairman of the House Judiciary Committee) along with Silicon Valley Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren. Conyers' premise:

"The Internet was designed without centralized control, without gatekeepers for content and services. If we allow companies with monopoly or duopoly power to control how the Internet operates, network providers could have the power to choose what content is available."

It seems like one of those standup routines: Democrats are like "Lalalala" while Republicans are like "Grrrrrrr." In this case, the "Grrrrrrr" comes from the bill's apparent threat to investment in ISPs. Yes, I cry for you, poor downtrodden multibillion-dollar multinationals with borderline monopoly arrangements for persistent and constantly increasing revenues.

The opponents specifically argue that new competition in broadband networks is what keeps ISPs honest in their dealings with consumers. Michigan Republican Representative Fred Upton is quoted as saying, "Our hands-off policy is working." From what we've seen there, Fred, you are either all wrong, mostly wrong or at least partially wrong. [IDG in NY Times via Slashdot]

Congress Tells Off FCC, Expects Full Count of Broadband Households

Wilson Rothman — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:20:00 EST

Turns out, the FCC defines an entire zip code as served by broadband when one single household receives one single 200-kilobit trickle. The US House of Representatives voted to change that. It seems, in order to see exactly how badly we're doing compared to the other post-industrial nations—do we rank 11th? or 15th? or 24th?—there needs to be a more accurate "broadband census."

According to the act, providers of both cable and DSL will be required to report the exact number of subscribers, the technology used to deliver service and the "advertised" speeds. Here's what Ars says will happen next:

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration will use the data to create broadband deployment maps, which it will make available to the public on the Internet. These maps will show what kind of broadband is available in which areas, and will drill down to the ZIP+4 level.

Hear that, FCC? Zip+4. In your face! Anyway, I'm just glad we'll finally know once and for all how badly Korea is kicking our ass. [Ars Technica]

Gizmodo: us house of representatives

Dems Launch Net Neutrality Bill, GOP Says "Hands Off the Poor ISPs!"

Congress Tells Off FCC, Expects Full Count of Broadband Households