In a recent edition of The Hill, several lawmakers highlighted our nation’s telecommunications advancements and the need for updated telecommunications legislation (“Special Focus: Telecom/IT,” Feb. 6). In particular, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) advocated for his “net neutrality” legislation to “preserve Internet freedom.” While I appreciate Sen. Dorgan’s penchant for new ideas, I believe this is a solution in search of a problem.

Net neutrality has been a strong marketing tool, but it is weak in public policy. Not only is there no true definition of net neutrality; there is no attack on our Internet freedoms. Having a neutral Internet is paramount to everyone, but what Sen. Dorgan and other advocates for new regulations are advocating will do more harm than good.

These new regulations will strip network providers of the ability to police their systems and crack down on piracy. Net neutrality laws will ensure degraded Internet service and a reluctance of content providers to place their creative property on the Web because network providers will be unable to ensure that it is protected from illicit distribution and download.

As a regular Internet user, I have never opened up Internet Explorer and thought, “I really lack Internet freedom.” But if net neutrality laws are enacted, one thing is for sure: For the first time in its history the Internet will be regulated by the government, and that is certainly an attack on Internet freedom.

Washington, D.C.
 

More reponses on the ‘SPECIAL FOCUS: TELECOM/IT’

We’re not there yet

From Larry Irving and Bruce Mehlman, co-chairmen, Internet Innovation Alliance

It was encouraging to read the new Commerce Committee chairman’s (Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii) Feb. 6 guest editorial urging regulatory humility, market-led innovation and more robust competition to pursue universal broadband deployment and adoption.

Widespread broadband availability promotes American growth, competitiveness and equality. It enables innovative, bandwidth intensive Internet applications, such as iTunes, YouTube, MySpace, Slingbox, and others that transform how we work, live, play and learn. But we are not there yet. We will need ongoing development of new content and applications, broader deployment of networks and competitive services, and significantly greater investments in transmission networks to realize the Internet’s true potential. ...

Washington, D.C.

No red tape

From Christopher Wolf and Mike McCurry, co-chairmen, Hands Off the Internet

The Internet needs constant maintenance and upgrading to meet the avalanche of data being placed on it by music, video, and other e-commerce companies. Given that, now is the wrong time to have the federal government begin regulating how the thousands of private networks that make up the Internet can deal with the growth.

Once you strip away the rhetoric, what’s most telling is the ongoing “who’s who” of independent Internet experts voicing strong opposition to proposed network regulation. These include David Farber, Robert Kahn, and the 700,000-member Communications Workers of America — whose members literally are on the front lines of today’s broadband rollout. With Internet companies uploading massive content every day and straining current bandwidth, Congress should focus on promoting deployment, not tying the Net down in red tape and litigation.

Arlington, Va.

 
For a better government

From Clay Johnson, deputy director for management, White House Office of Management and Budget

The executive and legislative branches are working to make the federal government more effective. GAO and Inspector General reports, objective program assessments (on www.ExpectMore.gov), and congressional oversight help identify what needs to be improved or fixed and hold agencies accountable for doing so. The president’s Management Agenda helps hold agencies accountable.

To help strengthen this focus on greater effectiveness, OMB has redesigned its website, www.Results.gov. The site gives:

• Examples (soon-to-be many) of federal employees taking specific steps to make their program more effective.

• Key management conditions and principles that should exist where each employee works, if their group wants to be effective.

•  Notable obstacles that prevent agencies from being more effective, which we are working to remove.

We want each federal employee to understand what their counterparts are doing to improve performance, what they and their manager might consider doing to help improve their group’s effectiveness, and what obstacles they might help remove. We encourage all federal employees and congressional staff members to partake of and contribute to the site.

Washington, D.C.