I’ll see you at eComm

Posted by Richard Bennett

I’ll be speaking at the eComm2009: Emerging Communications Conference in San Francisco next week:
The world’s leading-edge telecom, Internet communications and mobile innovation event built to both showcase and accelerate innovation; and to explore radical new opportunities – together.
eComm deals with the Telco 2.0 world in which telephony is software and networks are multi-purpose and [...]

Perils of Content Neutrality

Posted by Richard Bennett

Via Scott Cleland I see that Adam O’Donnell has written a nice piece on the side-effects of net neutrality regulation, Why I am against pure net neutrality
While it may sound like treating all ISP traffic equally is a good idea, mandating strict net neutrality hurts computer security for all of us.
Adam was in the audience [...]

Neutralism is the new S-word

Posted by Richard Bennett

Scott Cleland has done some interesting quote-diving from the works of the neutralists, offering up his findings in a new study. Without using the term “socialism” Scott provides the evidence that this is largely an anti-capitalist movement. The fact that a few highly-profitable capitalist enterprises have found a way to manipulate a rather traditional [...]

Nice Outings

Posted by Richard Bennett

My talk at the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group went very well. It was a huge room, seating probably 500 or so, and over half-full. I talked about how some of the crazier ideas about net neutrality are potentially becoming mainstream thanks to the politics in the nation’s capitol and some of the personnel choices made [...]

Speaking at MAAWG in Frisco tomorrow

Posted by Richard Bennett

I’m on a panel tomorrow at the General Meeting of the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, the organization that keeps the Internet from being overrun by spam and malware:
The Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group is a global organization focusing on preserving electronic messaging from online exploits and abuse with the goal of enhancing user trust and confidence, [...]

Court protects the right to bluff

Posted by Richard Bennett

In a rare move, the DC Circuit has upheld an FCC decision
The cable industry has won a big legal victory in the fiercely competitive phone services market. An appeals court has supported the Federal Communications Commission in its ruling that phone carriers—in this case Verizon—can’t try to lure back customers after they’ve initiated a service [...]

Thought you had no alternatives for broadband?

Posted by Brett Glass

One of the most common claims made by proponents of government regulation of the Internet (AKA “network neutrality”) is that it is necessary because broadband is a duopoly… Enter wireless consultant Brian Webster, who has embarked upon a project to compile a map showing the coverage of terrestrial, fixed wireless Internet providers (WISPs) throughout the United States. The results are impressive….

Digital Britain and Hokey Tools

Posted by Richard Bennett

It’s helpful to see how other countries deal with the typically over-excited accusations of our colleagues regarding ISP management practices. Case in point is the Digital Britain Interim Report from the UK’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which says (p. 27):
Internet Service Providers can take action [...]

Doubts about Broadband Stimulus

Posted by Richard Bennett

The New York Times has a front page story today on the broadband stimulus bill which features an extensive quote from Brett:
Critics like Mr. Glass say the legislation being developed in Congress is flawed in various ways that could mean much of the money is wasted, or potentially not spent at all — arguably just [...]