NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Verizon responds to Vint Cerf re Net Neutrality
Greetings. Your assignment for today -- compare and contrast. First, we have Verizon's Link Hoewing's new response to Vint Cerf in the Verizon Policy Blog entry referred to below ( http://bit.ly/154Lwl ), where Link paints a "What a beautiful world!" picture of happy Internet consumers, and where Link warns against "yelling fire" when it comes to Net Neutrality. But a couple of days ago, we saw Verizon CTO Dick Lynch painting a decidedly gloomy picture (from the consumer standpoint, anyway) predicting the need to meter conventional broadband in the same manner as limited wireless capacity ( http://bit.ly/21tTox ). At first glance, these two viewpoints seem to be in considerable conflict. But when considered from the standpoint of an ISP that increasingly sees providing content as a primary profit center, the fog clears considerably. Still, it's a degree of telco doublespeak that would have made Ma Bell proud. --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator ----- Forwarded message from David Farber <dave@farber.net> ----- Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 03:35:25 -0400 From: David Farber <dave@farber.net> Subject: [IP] Net Neutrality vs. A Sobering (and Authoritative) Take on Reality Reply-To: dave@farber.net To: ip <ip@v2.listbox.com> Begin forwarded message: From: Erik Cecil <erik.cecil@GMAIL.COM> Date: September 30, 2009 11:49:50 PM EDT To: CYBERTELECOM-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM Subject: Net Neutrality vs. A Sobering (and Authoritative) Take on Reality Reply-To: Telecom Regulation & the Internet <CYBERTELECOM-L@LISTSERV.AOL.COM> *Verizon's response to Vint Cerf's piece on Net Neutrality: * http://policyblog.verizon.com/BlogPost/672/MrCerfsPostonNetNeutralityandMyResponse.aspx Especially enjoyable: "So why I am I so positive about the future? Why do I believe we will continue to see more competition, more consumer choice, more openness and more innovation? Because the facts show that the U.S. broadband marketplace is, indeed, delivering the results one expects from competition and has been for more than a decade. Prices have declined <http://www.ustelecom.org/Learn/TelecomStatistics.html > . The average price of entry-level broadband for 5 major providers moved from $50 a month in 2001, to $33 in 2004, to $25 in 2007. Verizon’s own entry-level price in 2009 is $17.99 a month, with a 12 month contract. Output has increased: According to Pew<http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1254/home-broadband-adoption-2009>, seven out of 10 households still used dial-up modems in 2004. Today only 1 in 10 households use dial-up, while the U.S. broadband marketplace is perhaps the largest in the world, with nearly 70 million households connected, up from just 3.2 million in 2000. Furthermore, typical broadband speeds have more than doubled since 2004: DSL has moved from 1.5 mbps to 7; cable has moved from an average of 1.5 to 3 mbps to 8-16 mbps. Fiber didn’t exist in 2004. Today it’s available to more than 15 million households and delivers speeds of up to 50 mbps up and 20 mbps down. Furthermore, Internet use is increasingly un-tethered, with portable connections evolving into mobile. In any given month more than 1 in 3 users now report they’ve used wireless to reach the Internet, up from almost no one in 2004. The U.S. now has 4 nationwide 3G wireless providers, some with plans for 4G wireless that will offer 5 to 12 mbps speeds. A 5th company, Clearwire, is gearing for a nationwide launch of a 4G service using WiMax technology. The U.S. has 70,000 WiFi hotspots, the most in the world. According to Nielsen, more than 40 million Americans use mobile devices to access the Internet, more than in any other country in the world." *A SOBERING AND AUTHORITATIVE TAKE ON REALITY:* * * A tour de force, IMHO, but Lee really gets going around slide 12. Very much worth the read. http://www.nasuca.org/Selwyn%20Slides-pp%20boston.ppt ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com ----- End forwarded message -----