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[ NNSquad ] Re: H.R. 3458, Rep. Markey's third bill proposing to regulate the Internet and ISPs


On 08/24 14:56, Richard Bennett wrote:
> I dare you to post this to NNSquad.

Richard,

I don't take dares, but I would have posted your note anyway.  However, to
save time, I'll annotate as we go ...

On 08/24 14:56, Richard Bennett wrote:
> Gee, Lauren, that's a fairly weak analysis. Instead of addressing any of my
> points, you simply play the ad hom card against not only me but the ITIF,
> the organization I've been with for two whole months now. People who've been
> following this debate know that my objections to broad-brush, feel-good
> regulation are primarily technical, and not in any way related to my
> opinions on Obamacare, global warming, gay marriage, or anything else. I'm
> in favor of the public option, by the way.

I note that you didn't address what I actually mentioned, which was
your translating into a "P2P mandate" the quite reasonable requirement
for adequate bandwidth to and from *legal* user applications, but hey,
what the hell, we can let that pass for now.

> The Internet is an unfinished demo that needs a lot more work before it can
> serve the needs of civil society and the 21st century citizen. Good network
> engineers know this, and it's been said on this list several times by Bob
> Frankston. It also needs a lot of investment in the US to bring it up to the
> top global standard. ITIF and I have both criticized the state of broadband
> feeds and speeds in the US compared to the best global alterntives. See our
> report on Explaining International Broadband Leadership for the facts:
> http://www.itif.org/index.php?id=142

Unfinished demo, eh?  Seems like there's a slap in the face to a whole
lot of network engineers and entrepreneurs in that statement.  But since
you invoked Bob, I invite him publicly to explain whether his vision
of how the Internet should look (which I believe I understand pretty
well and in many ways I agree with in theory) is anything like the
sort of vision you've outlined in the past.

I also invite interested readers to explore the ITIF Web site 
( http://www.itif.org/ -- [free publicity!]) and draw their
own conclusions about the orientations of the organization.

> So here's the deal Lauren: if you want to do the ad hom thing, get your
> facts right; but it's best if you deal with the substantial issues in the
> debate instead of slinging mud.

If any mud was slinging, it was landing on Markey, and not by my hand.
I think that his Internet legislation is a great idea.  I wish I could
vote for him.  But I'm sure that the good Congressman can take care of
himself without my assistance.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
   - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
   - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition 
   for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein

 - - -


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lauren Weinstein [mailto:lauren@vortex.com] 
> Sent: Monday, August 24, 2009 2:03 PM
> To: nnsquad@nnsquad.org
> Subject: [ NNSquad ] Re: H.R. 3458,Rep. Markey's third bill proposing to
> regulate the Internet and ISPs
> 
> 
> Greetings.  I must admit that I am mystified regarding the message forwarded
> below.  I know that Seth is not a big fan of P2P.  But it's beyond even my
> imagination how he can find a problem in wording that supports the
> provisioning of adequate bandwidth for *legal* Internet services to and from
> users.
> 
> Major ISPs *have* been increasing upstream bandwidth.  Time Warner around
> here in L.A., without any fanfare at all (and I think some fanfare would
> have been in order), doubled max upstream rates to 2Mb within the last
> couple of weeks.
> 
> On the other hand, with so many ISPs implementing port blocking and
> non-traffic-sensitive anti-server restrictions in their TOS that are
> technically unjustifiable, that upstream bandwidth is frequently hobbled
> from the word go.
> 
> By the way, regarding Richard Bennett's predictable blast at Markey's latest
> effort to reign in ISP abuses:
> 
> http://www.internetevolution.com/document.asp?doc_id=180730
> 
> I can't resist noting the interesting aspects of ITIF for whom he's a
> research fellow.
> 
> Not only does ITIF generally seem opposed to Internet regulation, but their
> policy papers tend to play down the value that increased genuine competition
> would have in the ISP marketplace, and seem to suggest that we really don't
> have it so bad after all.
> 
> Sounds a lot like the kinds of arguments that the health insurance industry
> has been selling to Congress.
> 
> It's a wonderful world!  You have it great!  Now shut up, take what we deem
> fit to provide, and pay us!
> 
> --Lauren--
> Lauren Weinstein
> lauren@vortex.com
> Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
> http://www.pfir.org/lauren
> Co-Founder, PFIR
>    - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder,
> NNSquad
>    - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org Founder, GCTIP -
> Global Coalition 
>    for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org Founder,
> PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and
> Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
> Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
> 
>  
>  - - -
> 
> On 08/24 12:58, David Farber wrote:
> >
> >
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > From: Seth Finkelstein <sethf@sethf.com>
> > Date: August 24, 2009 12:11:38 PM EDT
> > To: David Farber <dave@farber.net>
> > Cc: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com>
> > Subject: Re: [IP] H.R. 3458, Rep. Markey's third bill proposing to 
> > regulate the Internet and ISPs.
> >
> >> http://www.freepress.net/files/H.R.3458-7-31-09.pdf
> >
> > 	Note page 10 seems to contain a P2P support *mandate*!!!:
> >
> >     "(g) OTHER SERVICES.--Not later than 180 days
> >     after the date of enactment of the Internet Freedom Pres-
> >     ervation Act of 2009, the Commission shall complete all
> >     actions necessary to--
> >           "(1) promote an ever-increasing level of Inter-
> >      net access service to end users;
> >           "(2) ensure that such evolving level of service
> >     provided to end users is capable of supporting lawful
> >     content, applications, and services and provides
> >     ample bandwidth for such traffic to and from an end user;
> >
> > 	Also relevant is the press release:
> >
> > http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3763
> > &Itemid=141
> >
> > July 31, 2009: REPS. MARKEY, ESHOO INTRODUCE BILL TO PRESERVE FREE AND 
> > OPEN INTERNET
> >
> > Washington, D.C. ... Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Anna G. Eshoo
> > (D-CA) introduced a bill today that will establish overarching 
> > national broadband policy and ensures an open and consumer oriented 
> > Internet.
> >
> > "The Internet is a success today because it was open to everyone with 
> > an idea," said Rep. Markey.  "That openness and freedom has been at 
> > risk since the Supreme Court decision in Brand X.  This bill will 
> > protect consumers and content providers because it will restore the 
> > guarantee that one does not have to ask permission to innovate."
> > "The Internet has thrived and revolutionized business and the economy 
> > precisely because it started as an open technology," Rep. Eshoo said. 
> > "This bill will ensure that the non-discriminatory framework that 
> > allows the Internet to thrive and competition on the Web to flourish 
> > is preserved at a time when our economy needs it the most."
> >
> > H.R. 3458, the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, is designed to 
> > assess and promote Internet freedom for consumers and content 
> > providers.  The bill will also require the FCC to examine whether 
> > carriers are blocking access to lawful content, applications, or 
> > services.  The legislation calls for the FCC to conduct eight public 
> > broadband summits around the country no less than a year after the 
> > bill is enacted.  These summits will be used to gather input from 
> > consumers, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and other 
> > stakeholders on Internet freedom and U.S. broadband policies affecting 
> > consumer protection, competition, and consumer choice.
> > ...
> > A full text of the bill can be found here:
> > http://markey.house.gov/images/PDFs/netneutralitybill.pdf
> >
> >
> > --
> > Seth Finkelstein  Consulting Programmer  http://sethf.com Infothought 
> > blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/
> > Interview: http://sethf.com/essays/major/greplaw-interview.php
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -------------------------------------------
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> 
> ----- End forwarded message -----
>