On Wed, Apr 7, 2010 at 8:13 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen <roz...@geekspace.com>wrote:
> Seth Cohn <sethc...@gnuhampshire.org> writes: > [...] > > But this list isn't for debating library history. My overall point > > was that looking toward governmental regulation of the net, even for > > 'good reasons', as with all 'governmental regulation' in general is a > > mistaken approach to whatever problems you might want to solve. There > > are _always_ better answers. > > Regardless of whether the FCC regulating `the Internet' (actually Comcast) > is a good or a bad idea, wasn't the gist of the ruling the other day > that..., > contrary to Greg's assertion, the FCC actually *doesn't* have the power? > > Greg actually seems to be the one poster conspicuously missing from > this thread that he started :) > > Maybe he can clarify what he meant. > > I'm back. $day_job and $family limit my list activity. To those early Arpanet, UNIX or BSD fans, I meant no slight by my simple generalization that Linux (the main topic) is inextricably intertwined with the Internet. To those who weren't scanning the news headlines, the context is that the FCC lost a lawsuit ruling in the US Circuit Court of Appeals [1] brought by Comcast in which Comcast complained that the FCC had no authority to forbid them from tampering with certain traffic (e.g. bittorrent). The complaint by Comcast was in response to an FCC statement [2] issued two years earlier, that statement “adopt[ed] the . . . principles” that “consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice . . . [and] to run applications and use services of their choice.” The reason for my post was to evoke action (from as many people as possible) in a political venue (because I believe it may only be possible to have effective government for the people when it's government by the people.) I hope to not only preserve an open Internet, but to expand it. Sadly, I fear we're losing an open Internet, and it's already fact that in America broadband is treated more like a luxury service (only for those who can afford it) rather than a public commons that benefits all. My apologies for not providing a specific call to action. I urge you to send the FCC a letter: https://secure.freepress.net/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=437 encouraging them to continue to fight for jurisdiction. Or maybe send Comcast a letter encouraging them to be good. To those who think regulation is the aim, that's not the point. There was no regulation in the first place. Just a statement of principle that consumers are entitled to freedom and choice. Comcast agreed to use more effective and transparent network management techniques rather than lie and secretively sabotage their own paying customers. I personally know from first-hand experience that it's bad when Comcast (a practical monopoly) slows your (paid) service to a crawl because you're (legally) downloading files from open source projects. I also know from first-hand experience that it's bad when Comcast seemingly interferes with the quality of competitor's VOIP traffic to the point where you're forced to quit and sign up for Comcast's competing service. [3] Did you know that Comcast is now the third-largest residential phone company in the US? [4] (Aside: I'm now ditching Comcast digital voice -- maybe back to Vonage -- with some intrepidation because the upstart VOIP providers have been beaten down by patents etc. to the point where the large incumbents are the dominant players now.) What's the solution if Comcast doesn't want to play nice? I'm not sure. I don't know the economics nor all the technical details of providing national broadband. But, I do have the opinion that a commonly owned infrastructure (aka government or public) would seem lower cost than having multiple large investments competing to create networks. And I certainly don't want a large (exclusive in practice) network provider carving up their info super-highway into a thousand toll-lanes. Maybe the FCC can provide good checks and balances in the system. If they don't, at least you have some representation with the FCC. [1] http://www.docstoc.com/docs/33136129/comcast-fcc-ruling also available at http://www.fcc.gov/ogc/ [2] http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/423 [3] http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Says-Theyll-Play-Nice-With-Vonage-95954 [4] http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Now-Third-Largest-Phone-Company-101317 ~ Greg Rundlett
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