NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] [WCIT] ISOC comments for WCIT
My Executive Summary: Keep the UN/ITU's hands away from the Internet! Gotta agree with this one. --Lauren-- ----- Forwarded message from Seth Johnson <seth.p.johnson@GMAIL.COM> ----- Date: Thu, 1 Nov 2012 06:13:31 -0400 From: Seth Johnson <seth.p.johnson@GMAIL.COM> Subject: [WCIT] ISOC comments for WCIT Reply-To: Seth Johnson <seth.p.johnson@GMAIL.COM> To: WCIT@LMLIST.STATE.GOV ISOC has articulated their position: http://www.internetsociety.org/doc/WCITSubmissionOctober2012 [. . .] Some have questioned whether the modern Internet is sustainable in light of ever-increasing demands for new data intensive services, whether there remain sufficient incentives for further investment, and assuming the negative, wonder whether the WCIT provides an opportunity to address these challenges through regulation. There have been assertions that new global regulations are needed in order to preserve the revenue streams for some players and to prevent an impending collapse of the global Internet. These are not new claims. Indeed, fears about the sustainability of the Internet have come and gone over the history of the Internet as market forces bring about new kinds of investments, pioneering technologies, and innovative business models. It is the very nature of the Internet – a distributed and open network of networks – that enables this kind of innovation and evolution. Indeed, as a recent report by the OECD on Internet traffic exchange concludes, “the Internet model of traffic exchange has produced low prices, promoted efficiency and innovation, and attracted the investment necessary to keep pace with demand” [OECD]. The last thing governments should do is lock-in a regulatory approach that may have significant and unpredictable negative consequences for the ability of networks to evolve, for new services to come about, for new businesses to be formed worldwide. In short, the Internet Society does not believe that a new treaty-based global regulatory approach that seeks to regulate how IP networks are managed, to alter network architecture, and/or to determine how commercial agreements between network operators should be conducted is good for the long term prospects of a global, open Internet that benefits everyone [ISOC - Interconnection]. Rather, policymakers should focus on policy approaches that have clearly worked to enable the growth in communications to date – competitive markets, liberalization, reliance on open standards, support for the free flow of information, and multistakeholder dialogue. Internet Society Perspectives While we think that there may be opportunities for useful revisions to the ITRs to reflect changes in the international telecommunications sector since 1988, we have deep concerns that some of the proposals to the WCIT would have serious negative implications for the global Internet. In our view, it is impossible to draw analogies between the traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and the Internet because the basic concepts, architecture, and operation are very different. The current ITRs were produced with the PSTN in mind. By explicitly or implicitly extending some of the current articles and related approaches to cover the Internet, and, using seemingly similar terms and concepts, there is a great danger of misinterpretation and confusion. In this regard, we have identified a number of proposals that we believe could undermine the security, stability, and innovative potential of networks worldwide. Yet there are also some proposals and updates to the treaty that we believe could enable growth and support continued innovation. Below, we outline the Internet Society’s position on several key proposals that have been submitted to date. This list is not inclusive of all proposals on which the Internet Society may have views. [. . .] ----- End forwarded message ----- --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info Founder: - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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