What if YOUR City Supported Net Neutrality?

I mean, it COULD happen… here’s my take on what the Madison City Council ought to say about it:

Last July, Edward Felten wrote,

In a sense, the net neutrality debate is a fight between the edges and the middle over control of the network. Neutrality regulation is generally supported by companies that provide services at the edge of the network, and is generally opposed by companies that manage the middle of the network. Each group wants the part of the network that it controls to have most of the intelligence…

I agree with this as far as it goes. The likely prospect of oligopolistic practices governing infrastructure build-out to set artificial limitations of bandwidth to provide best profitable price-points, and the vertical integration of content providers with bandwidth providers saturating the artificially constrained bandwidth are two other reasons I favor strong public policy regulation that promotes the concept of net neutrality. “Whereases” are easy to find, and rather than gin up my own set, I’ve cobbled together a few of my own and selected several from others who agree with me. These include:

The California Democratic Party and the Michigan Democratic party and Ed Markey.

WHEREAS, a broadband network free of restrictions on the kinds of equipment attached and the modes of communication allowed is a neutral network;

WHEREAS, the use of the power to discriminate between traffic types by Internet Service Providers, charging tolls on content from some content providers, particularly competitors is an onerous threat and that inability to pay the tolls would result in poor service or no service for certain websites or certain types of applications;

WHEREAS, the free and open nature of the Internet has fostered unprecedented innovation and economic growth;

WHEREAS, a fundamental part of the Internet’s nature is the fact that no one owns it and it is open to all comers;

WHEREAS, the growth of a free and open internet has provided historic advances in the realms of communication, research and economic development;

WHEREAS, the imposition of additional fees for Internet content providers would unduly burden web-based small businesses, start-ups, as well as communications for non-commercial users, religious speech, civic involvement, and exercising our First Amendment freedoms;

WHEREAS, carefully developed public policy regulation in the area of Network Neutrality will effectively thwart attempts by broadband behemoths to block, impair, or degrade a consumer’s ability to access any lawful Internet content, application, or service; will protect the right to attach any device for use with a broadband connection; will ensure that phone and cable companies cannot favor themselves or affiliated parties to the detriment of other broadband competitors, innovators, and independent entrepreneurs; and will prohibit the broadband Internet providers from charging extra fees and warping the web in a multi-tiered network of bandwidth haves and have-nots.

WHEREAS, to encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the internet, Madison consumers are entitled to access the lawful internet content of their choice without interference by their internet service providers; and

WHEREAS, to encourage the continued transformation of Madison’s economy to meet future needs and to further the growth of Wisconsin’s technology industry, Madison businesses are entitled to, and require, open and unfettered internet access; therefore be it

RESOLVED that the City of Madison adopts a position in favor of Net Neutrality and supports passage of Net Neutrality legislation in Wisconsin and at the Federal level.

I hope that Madison finds the strength to stand up for network neutrality and other informed public service regulation.