Network neutrality = common carriage

By Michael Fraase

Sunday, 02 March 2008 11:23AM CST

Section: Internet

Coax CableNetwork neutrality is not a new concept. Far from it, it’s been around for as long as we’ve been using data networks. Maybe you know it as the end-to-end principal, or, of you’re an old-timer you probably remember the fights over the common carrier status of the network providers. The concept of network neutrality is pretty simple: the companies that own the network plumbing shouldn’t be able to control what flows through the pipes. All data packets are treated equally.

Simple in concept; devilishly difficult in execution it turns out. Or at least that’s what the telephone and cable companies would have us believe.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) held a hearing on broadband network management practices earlier this week at the Harvard law school. Andy Oram, writing for O’Reilly radar, had the best analysis of the hearing I’ve seen, reflecting the infectiveness and overall impotence of the FCC:

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