Although “the Internet” seems ethereal, it is in fact a network of networks that connects billions of users around the world. The capabilities of the Internet are dependent on the reach of those networks. Many governments worldwide are considering how to effectively and efficiently make robust networks available to their citizens to enable them to access the Internet.
"If we want an open Internet and the rules necessary to preserve it, we have to continue to make our voices heard and work hard to educate and convince the FCC, the White House, and members of Congress. The future of the Internet depends on it." — Barbara van Schewick, Professor, Stanford University
"I thought of it as a kind of perpetual frontier, the place where everyone gets a shot, where the underdogs have a chance. The Internet has been that. And I wanted some principles that would keep it that way." — Tim Wu, Professor, Columbia University
"It’s like FedEx. You pay a certain amount for overnight delivery and a certain amount for two-day delivery. You could end up with something like that for the Internet." — Philip Weiser, Dean, University of Colorado Law School
"The F.C.C. appears to be attempting to thread a needle. I don’t think we’ll know for a while whether they can succeed.” — Christopher Yoo, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
"The legal vacuum created by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit threatens the Internet that we know and love. It threatens the start-up economy. It threatens American leadership in the Internet space. That is a huge problem, and we need to fix it." — Barbara van Schewick, Professor, Stanford University
"Network neutrality proponents seem to be assuming that the proposed standard would be tantamount to non-regulation. I’m not sure broadband providers regard the new rules as a green light for doing whatever they want." — Christopher Yoo, Professor, University of Pennsylvania
"We take it for granted that bloggers, start-ups, or nonprofits on an open Internet reach their audiences roughly the same way as everyone else. Now they won’t. They’ll be behind in the queue, watching as companies that can pay tolls to the cable companies speed ahead." — Tim Wu, Professor, Columbia University
“Phone and cable companies should be careful what they wish for because this could all blow up in their face. Verizon and Comcast could end up facing serious demands for money. It could be that Google will say to the telcos, ‘Actually, if you want your customers to be able to reach Google, I’m afraid you’re going to pay us.’” — Tim Wu, Professor, Columbia Law School
Denying that the FCC's open Internet order reflects common carriage regulation isn't likely to be a winning strategy, said Tim Wu, the Columbia University law professor who first coined the term "net neutrality." That's because the very notion of non-discrimination is central to common carriage, an idea that itself dates back to medieval times.
“It’s just a completely different world” if Internet providers are able to throttle traffic to certain websites and services, such as Netflix, Skype and YouTube, said Columbia law professor Tim Wu, who coined the phrase “network neutrality.”
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High-speed Internet access – often referred to as “broadband” – is a set of technologies that, taken together, are recognized as a potential catalyst for global economic and social change.
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This paper looks at technology that increases the bandwidth of existing networks that carry broadband traffic.
December 1, 2010
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