More than 60 technology companies, consumer advocates and trade
groups are urging a U.S. House of Representatives committee to
seriously consider legislation designed to prohibit broadband
providers from discriminating against competing services
transmitted over their networks.
Amid some press reports that the House Energy and Commerce
committee was ready to scrap so-called net neutrality provisions
from a broad-ranging communications bill, the groups sent a letter
to the committee Wednesday. A committee spokesman said Thursday no
decisions have been made about what provisions will be included in
the communications bill.
The bill also includes a streamlined video franchise plan that
would allow large telecommunications companies entering the video
market to get quick approvals to offer service to compete with
cable television.
"We ... believe that unless Congress acts, the Internet is at
risk of losing the openness that has made it an engine for
phenomenal social and economic growth," the letter form the groups
says. "We are writing to urge that Congress take steps now to
preserve this fundamental underpinning of the Internet and to
assure the Internet remains a platform open to innovation and
progress."
Among the companies signing the letter were Amazon.com Inc.,
EarthLink Inc., eBay Inc., Match.com, Microsoft Corp., Pulver.com,
TiVO Inc. and Yahoo Inc. Advocacy groups signing onto the letter
included the Consumer Federation of America, Free Press and Public
Knowledge.
On Thursday, Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said he
would introduce a net neutrality law. Under Wyden's bill, the
Internet Nondiscrimination Act of 2006, network operators would be
prohibited from charging companies for faster delivery of their
content to consumers over the internet or favoring some content
over others.
Large broadband providers, including Verizon Communications
Inc., Comcast Corp. and AT&T Inc., say a net neutrality law
isn't needed, because there's little evidence of a problem. Such a
law would prohibit broadband providers from providing preferential
treatment to their own or their partners services and blocking or
slowing access to competing services, such as an unaffiliated VOIP
(voice over Internet Protocol) service.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) provider BellSouth Corp. has
proposed a business model where it charges Web sites and services
an additional fee for better speed and performance, and most net
neutrality backers say such a service would hurt small businesses
and innovative startups. Officials from BellSouth, Verizon and
AT&T have all, in recent months, complained that Web-based
businesses such as Google Inc. are getting a free ride over their
pipes.
Wyden's bill would prohibit broadband providers from creating a
"priority lane where content providers can buy quicker access to
customers, while those who do not pay the fee are left in the slow
lane," Wyden's office said in a press release.
"Creating a two-tiered system could have a chilling effect on
small mom-and-pop businesses that can't afford the priority lane,
leaving these smaller businesses no hope of competing against the
Wal-Marts of the world," Wyden said in a statement. "Neutrality in
technology enables small businesses to thrive on the Internet, and
allows folks to start small and dream big, and that's what I want
to protect with this legislation."
An AT&T spokesman didn't respond directly to Wyden's
bill, but he said AT&T will not block, impair or degrade
service to any legal Web site or service. "AT&T is simply
pointing out the challenges related to an ever-evolving Internet
with proliferating applications that require significant network
bandwidth," said Michael Balmoris, an AT&T spokesman. "At
this stage, we are exploring different product models, but feel
strongly that this is an issue that has to be solved in the
marketplace."
Large broadband providers have also suggested that a net
neutrality provision would be one of the first major regulations of
the Internet.
The letter from the 64 groups said consumers, not network
providers, should decide what Web sites and services they use.
"While it is appropriate for Congress to develop new legislation to
promote competition among broadband networks, it must also ensure
that consumers and providers continue to have the right to use
those networks to send and receive content, and to use applications
and services, without interference by network operators," the
letter said.
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