I don’t usually write a blog post just to say “go read this other person’s blog post”, but some cases are worth an exception. Andy Oram’s recent post at O’Reilly Radar
Does net neutrality really matter?
is a must-read if you think you know where you stand on network neutrality.
The million comments received by the FCC (and one of them was mine) certainly indicated a healthy interest and watchfulness on the part of the public; with luck, the FCC will understand them that way. But the simplistic recommendation virtually all of us made in those comments, essentially that the FCC should grab the bluntest and most direct instrument at hand, Title II authority, and use it to regulate Internet traffic in a one-size-fits-all way, may not be the best outcome for the Internet. Andy Oram’s post explains why.
I still think that wave of comments was, overall, a good thing. The FCC, and by extension Congress, are now very aware that if smaller players start to have real trouble getting good Internet connections (inbound or outbound), it will be an electoral issue. But just because the comments demonstrate vigilance doesn’t mean they’re actually making the best technical recommendation available. After reading Andy’s post, you’ll understand why. In particular, follow his link to Michael Powell’s comment about the “Mercedes Divide”.
Once again, Andy Oram’s post: