FCC dealt major blow in net neutrality ruling favoring, Comcast

Mon Apr 12 18:42:49 UTC 2010

One of the things I like about e-mail lists is learning things about 
myself that I never knew before, especially regarding my occupation. For 
the last 9 months or so I've been working part-time with a Washington 
think tank in an analyst capacity, not as a lobbyist, and not on the 
Comcast payroll. My views about Internet regulation precede this job and 
haven't been altered by it. For purposes of the present discussion, I'd 
rather be known as the guy who wrote the first IEEE 802 standard for 
Ethernet over twisted pair, or designed the Wi-Fi MAC protocol, or the 
DRP for UWB, or something like that.

As Suresh notes, the idea that the FCC overstepped its bounds in the 
Comcast order is hardly controversial. It's not even a matter of opinion 
any more, as the decision written by the most liberal judge on the 3rd 
Circuit, David Tatel, means it's the law. The debate about how to 
regulate the Internet is now premised on the fact that the old rationale 
doesn't hold up to scrutiny, so deal with it.

RB

On 4/11/2010 11:23 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 11:41 AM, Paul WALL<pauldotwall at gmail.com>  wrote:
>    
>> It should probably be noted, for purpose of establishing bias, that
>> Richard is a Washington lobbyist, hired to represent Comcast on
>> regulatory matters.  What he views as overstepping legal bounds,
>> others may view as protecting consumers...
>>      
> Hell, funnily enough Susan Crawford warned at the time that the FCC
> action wouldn't stand up in court the way it was done.
>
> http://www.circleid.com/posts/comcast_vs_the_fcc_a_reply_to_susan_crawfords_article/
>
> --srs
>    

-- 
Richard Bennett
Research Fellow
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Washington, DC