SAN JOSE, Calif., March 16 /PRNewswire/ -- In a groundswell of support
from Internet innovators, entrepreneurs and communications companies, more
than 80 companies attending the VON Conference signed a letter urging Congress
to preserve the principles of 'net neutrality. The letter, signed by eBay,
Craigslist, Google, BT Americas, Pac-West and Skype among many others, was
sent today to Chairman Joe Barton and Rep. John Dingell of the House Committee
on Energy and Commerce.
"Net Neutrality is THE hot topic at the VON Conference and will be the
subject of most heated communications policy debate within the Beltway and the
corridors of power throughout the world," said Jonathan Askin, general counsel
of Pulver.com. "There is no doubt the right result on Net Neutrality will
shape the future of communications for decades to come and will determine
whether or not we succeed in fully realizing and maximizing the value and
capabilities of the open Internet."
"The VON Coalition encourages policy makers to ensure that consumers are
allowed to use any device, application, or service on the Internet that they
choose," said Staci Pies, president of the VON Coalition. "These basic
Internet freedoms positively shaped the development of the Internet and should
be carried forward to the broadband future. Indeed, the openness of the
Internet has been its defining hallmark, and such openness is critical to
unlocking the vast future potential of Internet communications. At the same
time, consumers should not be prevented from lawfully using the bandwidth for
which they pay."
"Keeping the Internet open and inter-connected is the right thing to do,"
said John Sumpter, vice president regulatory for Pac-West. "All network
carriers should be expected to live with the rules that have allowed the
Internet to succeed."
Text of the Letter:
The Honorable Joe Barton
Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable John D. Dingell
Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
RE: Protecting the Open and Interconnected Nature of the Internet
Dear Chairman Barton, Ranking Member Dingell and Members of the Committee:
Everywhere people with a stake in the Internet economy gather, they are
discussing 'net neutrality and, by an overwhelming margin, looking to Congress
to steadfastly defend the Internet and preserve its open and interconnected
nature. 'Net neutrality is the principle that the Internet should remain open
and interconnected-free from gatekeepers over new content and services-to
promote innovation, economic growth and job creation.
'Net neutrality is a historic practice that has enabled the success of the
Internet. It must be re-codified as the law of the land. We are writing to
you today because we believe 'net neutrality, built upon the Federal
Communications Commission's four principles, is essential.
Nearly two-thirds of the public uses the Internet and a recent poll shows
that more than two-thirds of the public supports 'net neutrality. The
principle of nondiscrimination and open access to communications networks has
been part of public policy and law for almost a century and as more of our
economic and social life goes online, 'net neutrality becomes even more
important.
As the capacity and bandwidth of the Internet grows, it will become the
platform of choice for commercial development unmatched in our history. Just
as the growth of Amazon, eBay, Yahoo and Google was not foreseeable five and
ten years ago, we cannot now predict the ideas that will evolve in the next
five to ten years. What we do know is that as the capacity and bandwidth
grows, independent creative people will find new valuable applications, so
long as they have unfettered access to that capacity. In the past 'net
neutrality was embodied in laws that applied to the common carriers that
underpinned the Internet. The Internet benefited from that neutrality.
Recent decisions by the Federal Communications Commission, which are under
review, have eliminated for some broadband Internet services, the safeguard
which protected 'net neutrality by ensuring non-discriminatory interconnection
obligations between multiple competitive broadband carriers. Up till now,
competitive broadband carriers allowed consumers and innovative e-commerce
companies to cast their vote for 'net neutrality in the marketplace.
According to Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, this safeguard "paradoxically"
allowed the Internet to remain "open and 'unregulated' as originally
designed."
The risks posed by the fact that today phone and cable operators together
control 98 percent of the broadband market are very real. We have already
seen more than glimpses into the future. VoIP blocking and Internet outages
have already occurred, discriminatory web fees and the creation of a "two
tier" Internet have been threatened and a future of bandwidth rationing and
ubiquitous click fees is in the offing.
We are writing to advise you that outside the beltway, in the market,
there are rumors that 'net neutrality will be stripped away by the House of
Representative's communications policy legislation. We urge you to put this
rumor to rest immediately by affirming your commitment to 'net neutrality.
The dawning realization that the Internet economy-which must be measured in
hundreds of billions if not trillions of dollars-has little or no legal
protection against online discrimination can and will have a chilling effect
on investment, innovation and ecommerce. Congress must address this growing
uncertainty.
Broadband carriers are quite correct in saying that bandwidth is not free
and they ought to be able to neutrally charge consumers for bandwidth usage.
But in opposing 'net neutrality, carriers propose a fundamental change to the
Internet economy, the consequences of which can be foreseen, based on the
recent behavior of carriers.
Rights, freedoms and markets we take for granted exist within the
Internet's decentralized and open architecture. We urge you to support 'net
neutrality and the future promise of the Internet.
Sincerely,
Acopia Networks
Advancedmultimedia.com
Airespring
AnalogZone
Ask.com
Awow Communications
Bandwidth.com
Borsetti & Co.
BT Americas, Inc.
CALTEL
Chemistry.com
Citysearch
CommPartners Holding Company
Comunicano, Inc.
Corliant
Cornerstone Brands, Inc.
Craigslist
Dagdamor Media
Domania
eBay
Economics & Technology, Inc.
Elaine P. Dine
Entertainment Publications
Evite
Free World Dialup
GetSmart
Gifts.com
Google
GotVoice, Inc.
Graceline Canada
HSE24
HSN
iFreedom Communications
iNest
IAC/InterActiveCorp
INS
InterMetro
Interval International
Intervox.com
IntraISP
Invens Capital
Isen.com, LLC
IVR Technologies
J. Arnold & Associates
JohnnyZip
Lafayette Group, Inc.
Law Offices of James Tobin
LendingTree
Lingo, Inc.
Listyourself.net
Match.com
McFadden Associates
MCM Telecom
Microcom
Miller & Van Eaton
Objectworld
Pac-West
PointOne
PRC
Primus Telecommunications
Pulver.com
RealEstate.com
ReserveAmerica
Rifftone.com
S & B Technical Products
Savatar
ServiceMagic
Shelcomm
Shoebuy.com
Skype
Sling Media
SOHOlutions
Sonus Capital Management
Symercy Financial Corp.
Techviser
Telekom Austria
Telephia
TELLO
Ticketmaster
Tier 1 Research
T-Mobile USA
TNS
udate.com
VI Technologies
Vivox
WCW Networks
FOR MORE INFORMATION
VON Contact:
Susan Donahue
651-283-8700
susan@firpr.com
SOURCE Pulver.com Enterprises
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Related links:
http://www.pulver.com
CONTACT:
Susan Donahue, +1-651-283-8700, or
susan@firpr.com , for Pulver.com Enterprises
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