I need to expain why this is bad in some detail, but for now enjoy Julian Sanchez’ Internet for Everyone campaign aims to bridge digital divide:
Legal scholars Jonathan Zittrain and Tim Wu stressed what Zittrain called the “weird” economics of providing high-speed Internet. Initially, said Zittrain, cost increases are commensurate with the scale of the network, until “suddenly it’s free, because you’re peering.” But in practice, said Wu, drawing an analogy to the energy crisis, broadband in the U.S. is “controlled by a tiny cartel.” Nevertheless, Vint Cerf—who in addition to being known as the “father of the Internet” authored the manifesto “The Internet Is for Everyone”—stressed that the new rules for broadband should not resemble “the vertical regulation of the past.”
All this may have a whiff of “and a pony” about it: Nobody is going to oppose universal, cheap, fast Internet access—but how long will this motley crew speak with a unified voice when it comes to the nitty-gritty of policymaking? I put the question to Zittrain after the press conference, and he allowed that consensus is less likely the further one gets from these pleasing generalities. The coalition’s role, he suggested, will primarily consist of focusing public attention on the issue—and on instances of telecom rent-seeking that might otherwise slide under the radar.
Everybody likes free stuff, until the strings become evident.
Technorati Tags: net+neutrality