[Discuss] EFF-Austin Net Neutrality discussion, June 1

[Jon Lebkowsky]

* At the semester-end party, I promised to send this info...
 
Net Neutrality Forum
 
June 1st 6-8pm
 
in the back room at La Madeleine (http://www.lamadeleine.com)
3418 N. Lamar, Austin 78705
(*35th & Lamar*)
 
Our guest speakers will be W.Scott McCollough and Wayne Caswell
 
Austin attonney W. Scott McCollough will address issues of "net
neutrality" and related concerns, such as 
 
communications policy, market power, market consolidation and the
increasingly close relationship between the 
 
large physical layer provider oligopolies and the government, with
particular emphasis on surveillance and 
 
privacy.
 
Technologist Wayne Caswell will summarize the points of Bruce
Kushnick's new e-book, "The $200 Billion Broadband 
 
Scandal." He will discuss the argument AGAINST Net Neutrality, "must
carry" PEG channels, and bans on red lining. 
 
He then plans to examine the objectives of consumers and other
stakeholders, and discuss creative ways to meet as 
 
many of these as possible. Possible solutions include legislation that
allows (and encourages) public ownership 
 
of broadband infrastructure as an option for municipalities.
 
Press Release:
 
June 1 Meeting Covers Critical Internet Issue of Network Neutrality
 
EFF-Austin announces an important discussion to be held Thursday, June
1, 2006 at La Madeleine, 3418 N Lamar 
 
Blvd, Austin, 78705. The subject of discussion is network neutrality.
While we're all finding new and clever 
 
Web.20ish ways to load our broadband pipes, there's an increasing
danger that the open architecture that made the 
 
Internet accessible and cheap will go away, replaced by tiered network
services operated by Ma Bell. That's 
 
right: the telephone monopoly that was supposedly destroyed by a
trust-busting agreement in 1982-84 is pulling 
 
itself together as the new AT&T, and it's intent on replacing the
Internet with a tiered broadband service with 
 
increased costs for services, paid by content providers as well as
users. This could increase barriers to entry, 
 
stifle innovation, and replace the many-to-many Internet with a
one-way cable television analogue. Many Internet 
 
advocates seek legislation to preserve the concept of network
neutrality, "that packet data networks such as the 
 
Internet access as common carriage should be just like traditional
railroads and telephone networks. According to 
 
this view, the Internet transport and service system, having received
valuable public right of way should not be 
 
allowed to be privately owned without open access so that owners could
provide services that they own on 
 
favorable terms and thus unfairly compete with third-party services."
 
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality)
 
Contact:
 
Jon Lebkowsky - jonl at polycot.com
 
Silona Bonewald - silona at leagueoftechvoters.org
 
EFF-Austin - info at effaustin.org
 
EFF-Austin has monthly meetings on the first Thursday of the month at
La Madeleine.
 
We will be recording these meetings for possible podcasting. Please be
aware that if you participate in these 
 
public forums, your comments may be placed online for posterity.

 

Jon Lebkowsky
CEO, Polycot
503 W. 17th, Suite 100, Austin, TX 78701
Phone 512 482-0715 fax 512 857-0049
 <http://polycot.com/> http://polycot.com |  <http://weblogsky.com/>
http://weblogsky.com
 <http://public.2idi.com/=jonl> http://public.2idi.com/=jonl

"We can know intellectually the properties of electricity, but that's
nothing like being hit with a live wire." - Ruben L.F. Habito