Comments on: Net Neutrality http://robfisher.net/blog/archive/2009/10/20/net-neutrality/ RobFisher.net Mon, 06 Feb 2012 08:37:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael Jennings http://robfisher.net/blog/archive/2009/10/20/net-neutrality/comment-page-1/#comment-1006388 Michael Jennings Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:29:37 +0000 http://www.robfisher.net/blog/?p=1029#comment-1006388 In most urban areas in this country, most telephone exchanges have unbundled local loops from at least five different carriers, meaning that changing ISPs will not change the copper wire between your home and the exchange, but will change everything else about the internet connection, including how that copper wire is used. Plus you have in many areas a cable possibility via Virgin Media, plus five different UMTS networks (some of which are sharing infrastructure and two of which are about to move, but still a number of different choices) and various other future possibilities. If your ISP decides to try to control what you can and cannot do with it, you have lots of choices, so we don't need to worry about this much over here. Most other countries have less competition - the basic rule being the more significant the former monopolies remain, the worse the situation is - but I am still pretty confident that competition will keep us in pretty good nick. The pattern is very clearly away from telcos attempting to control what services can be provided over their networks and towards open internets. (In case nobody noticed, openness won in the mobile space during the last couple of years). I am much more concerned by the prospect of governments trying to censor networks, or trying to ban certain protocols in ham handed attempts to enforce copyright and things like that. In most urban areas in this country, most telephone exchanges have unbundled local loops from at least five different carriers, meaning that changing ISPs will not change the copper wire between your home and the exchange, but will change everything else about the internet connection, including how that copper wire is used. Plus you have in many areas a cable possibility via Virgin Media, plus five different UMTS networks (some of which are sharing infrastructure and two of which are about to move, but still a number of different choices) and various other future possibilities. If your ISP decides to try to control what you can and cannot do with it, you have lots of choices, so we don’t need to worry about this much over here. Most other countries have less competition – the basic rule being the more significant the former monopolies remain, the worse the situation is – but I am still pretty confident that competition will keep us in pretty good nick. The pattern is very clearly away from telcos attempting to control what services can be provided over their networks and towards open internets. (In case nobody noticed, openness won in the mobile space during the last couple of years).

I am much more concerned by the prospect of governments trying to censor networks, or trying to ban certain protocols in ham handed attempts to enforce copyright and things like that.

]]> By: Adriana http://robfisher.net/blog/archive/2009/10/20/net-neutrality/comment-page-1/#comment-1006386 Adriana Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:04:00 +0000 http://www.robfisher.net/blog/?p=1029#comment-1006386 I am still a bit torn about the whole net neutrality thing but I hate the idea of any legislation going anywhere near the internet so I'd to agree with you. There are compelling reasons not to legislate for net neutrality that have to do with warping behaviour and innovation in the future... Doc Searls tends to have some good thinking about this, where we both different from the usual webby crowd of West coast liberals. Either way it's a tough one - telecos are a hugely regulated industry so the option of no government intervention is already compromised. The question is use more government intervention to prevent abuse of the network by telcos or just leave things alone even it if means bad things for the internet and web... I am still a bit torn about the whole net neutrality thing but I hate the idea of any legislation going anywhere near the internet so I’d to agree with you. There are compelling reasons not to legislate for net neutrality that have to do with warping behaviour and innovation in the future… Doc Searls tends to have some good thinking about this, where we both different from the usual webby crowd of West coast liberals.

Either way it’s a tough one – telecos are a hugely regulated industry so the option of no government intervention is already compromised. The question is use more government intervention to prevent abuse of the network by telcos or just leave things alone even it if means bad things for the internet and web…

]]>