Talkback
by Staff -- Multichannel News, 9/28/2009 2:00:00 AM
Openness on the Open Internet
(RE: Industry Groups Question Need for FCC to Expand Internet Openness Principles, Sept. 21): In his announcement this morning that he will open a new regulatory proceeding aimed at expanding the role of government “to preserve the open Internet,” FCC chairman [Julius] Genachowski talked about the importance of transparency and reasonable network management.
We have championed these concepts here at NextGenWeb. One reflects the basic belief that consumers should be informed about their broadband service and the other allows network engineers — on a day-to-day, minute-to-minute basis — to keep the Internet secure and highly functioning for the country and the world.
There was much to find encouraging in Chairman Genachowski’s remarks. He reveled in the innovation and investment our nation has enjoyed over the last 40 years, ever since “a bunch of researchers in a lab changed the way computers interact and, as a result, changed the world.” …
But most importantly, he pointed out a critical and central fact to the coming debate. “We cannot know what tomorrow holds on the Internet,” he said, “except that it will be unexpected.”
It’s my hope that reasonable folks on both sides of the “net neutrality” debate hear the implications of that statement. It makes a compelling case that we proceed with caution when it comes to greater government involvement in the day-to-day operations of the Internet. Even the best and brightest innovators have trouble predicting and planning for the future. Can Washington do a better job? …
We will have a lot to say during these proceedings. Much of it will be supportive because we’re big believers in transparency and network management. But at times, we may also serve as a respectful voice of dissent, warning about the laws of unintended consequences and making the case for policies that support investment and innovation in the networks that allow consumers to have the kind of Internet experience they want. And you will hear us talk about the true state of competition and consumer choice in the U.S. broadband market.
Regina Hopper, Executive VP, USTelecom, Washington, D.C.
No related content found.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
