See First Panel here, and the live video here.
David Farber, former FCC chief tech, and CMU:
What would you need 300 baud for? It motivated faster TTYs. We’re moving to faster networks, and that will stimulate new applications. If this going to lead to a better world, or to 1984? Don’t cut off the future with bad regulations. Big rush to restrict P2P traffic. It’s not all illegal, but it’s hard to tell. Peak loads are hard to restrict with monthly caps. Three dollar surcharge on video downloads.
Deep packet inspection is a useful tool for network management. It’s obscene to sell personal info gleaned with DPI and that should be stopped. Pittsburgh has poor data service. Let’s run experiments in the under-served areas. Re-establish the FCC’s Chief Technologist’s office. Farber unfortunately had to leave.
Rahul Tongia, CMU:
My wife had twins in a Wi-Fi enabled hospital. Digital divide is my deal. Metcalfe’s Law is cool. Yada yada inclusion. (Botches the math on Metcalfe’s law; it’s not the square, it’s a geometric function.) Everybody has to be attached to broadband or I have no fun.
Robert W. Quinn, Jr., AT&T:
Unprecedented transition to new stuff. We need to modify regulatory structures as we enter broadband era. Investment is hard to come by due to rapid growth in demand. We run an OC-768 backbone (40 Gb/s). We also have to make networks more efficient, not just faster. Potholes. Changed our disclosure and TOS’s to eliminate ability to silence critics. Clear notice of service capability, notice of restrictions, and tiers of service. Treat customers fairly and honestly.
Rebecca Bagley, PA gov’t:
We have tools at our disposal to encourage deployment, etc. (This is going to be very boring.) By 2015 we want broadband all over PA. Talks a lot about aggregation, what she means by that isn’t clear.
Rey Ramsey, One Economy Corp: No show.
Rendall Harper, Wireless Neighborhoods:
We’re an alliance of community and faith neighborhoods dealing with digital divide. Poor children need better education. (Mark Ellis got a lead-off walk from Kazmir. Can the A’s break the losing streak?)
Scott Wallsten, Technology Policy Institute:
We compare favorably in broadband with the rest of the world. We need better data, however. The US ranks ahead of all large countries except Korea, and is roughly equal to Japan. Why not use the Census to map broadband? (Damnit, Ellis got picked off second after Sweeney got a hit.)
Marge Krueger, Communications Workers of America:
Thanks Mike Doyle for the hearing. We represent the working people, and we want high-speed Internet for everyone. We think we’re falling behind the rest of the world, but Scott just de-bunked that stuff. Oops. They run a speed test web site.(B. J. Upton is a stud, steals second against left-hander Eveland.) Take strong action to preserve Open Internet, don’t let Comcast get buy without paying more workers to pull more wires. Public-private partnerships are cool.
Questions:
Copps: Makes a statement about public-private partnerships. (Eveland gets out of the first inning unscathed. Good show, now Cust has another chance.) Mr. Quinn, I’m confused. Can’t we have bigger pipes?
Quinn: $17.5 B annual capex budget, sir, and we had to replace it all. We need all the tools. HDTV on the Internet is going to be a monster. (Cust walks, BoCro K’s, now it’s up to CarGo. Go A’s!) We believe you have the authority to enforce your principles, and we want all the customers to be able to go wherever they want.
Copps: OK, but we like public-private partnerships. Final comment, importance of education.
Adelstein: Public-private partnerships. (switch-hitting Brooks Conrad called up from Sacramento, and Donnie Murphy DFA’d.) How can the feds help PA be a leader in telecom?
Bagley: We like partnerships with the feds.
Krueger: Make sure that providers obey the labor laws. (Two A’s strike out looking in the second. That’s annoying.)
Adelstein: No blogger left behind.
Harper: There are plenty of computers, but not enough connections.
Tongia: International comparisons don’t matter. Served vs. unserved. US ranks 43rd in infant mortality. Interesting point. So why don’t we solve that first, and get to broadband when it’s our worst problem?
Tate: Thank you all for being here.
McDowell: Scott, what’s the deal with the international comparisons?
Wallsten: We need better data, and we have lots of priorities. Counts don’t work. (Eveland is walking too many guys again, the dude needs to throw strikes.) Universal service subsidizes rich people in Aspen, but not poor people. It’s idiotic.
McDowell: Terms of service are interesting, fastest growth is in wireless. What’s AT&T’s policy on P2P over wireless?
Quinn: I don’t think we block P2P over wireless. We’re going to be real clear about what we allow and what we don’t.
McDowell: Are the same policies going to apply to all networks?
Quinn: No.
Martin: Economic loss of excluded users?
Tongia: It’s controversial. Measurements aren’t very good right now. Exluded suffer as more people have broadband. (But can’t they hitchhike?)
Martin: Tiers of service?
Quinn: Offer tiers everywhere we can.
Martin: Do we have authority?
Quinn: Yep.
Martin: What’s the deal with the data?
Wallsten: We’re not really doing that bad, according to EU data. But it never gets any attention.
Now we’re into the audience questions, which will all be about net neutrality and Google’s open Internet, no sense in listening to that.