Paul's Web Space 2.1

Internet for Everyone

I recently received a Facebook Group invitation to join an important campaign - Internet for Everyone. It is essential that we provide high-speed Internet access to everyone in the U.S. — to enhance fairness and close the digital divide, to enhance learning and freedom to communicate, and to enable more innovation and more widespread participation in the global information economy.

Tim Karr's article on Huffington Post, "America's Next Moon Shot: Internet for Everyone," introduced the initiative, and the Internet for Everyone Brochure lays out the specific goals of the campaign and provides copious evidence of the shortcomings that exist in U.S. broadband implementation today.


The announcement at last month's Personal Democracy Forum featured (among others):

• Jonathan Adelstein, FCC commissioner
• Jonathan Zittrain, Berkman Center for Internet & Society
• Tim Wu, Columbia Law School
• Vint Cerf, Google (and author, RFC 3271)
• Larry Lessig, Stanford Law School
• Van Jones, Green For All

I've been following efforts like this for some time, in venues such as the Freedom to Connect conference. Other involved organizations have programs and information worth checking out. The New America Foundation's Wireless Future Program is working hard to free up underutilized wireless spectrum to enhance broadband opportunities. EDUCAUSE has proposed a Blueprint for Big Broadband. The technology CEOs of TechNet also call for rapidly accelerated broadband deployment.

If you believe in the importance of Internet freedom, equity, and innovation, I encourage you to join the Facebook group or sign up here.

Labels: broadband policy, digital divide, freepress, internet

   Link: http://www.internetforeveryone.org

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Blogging for Net Neutrality

I recently signed up as a blogger for net neutrality with SaveTheInternet.com, so I might as well blog about it. I've long been a supporter of the concept, and signed CPSR on as a charter member of the coalition when it formed a couple years ago. Recently, People for Internet Responsibility has contributed a good technical foundation to the debate, offering a proposal to measure Internet traffic in order to settle debates on net neutrality, and creating a new discussion list covering technical issues, nn-squad.

Some recent developments: U2's manager Paul McGuinness wants ISPs to cut off file sharers, AT&T thinks file sharing is worse than child abuse or terrorism, and a major Canadian ISP tampers with packets to alter web pages delivered to its customers. These developments follow more infamous incidents like Comcast hindering Bittorrent, AT&T censoring anti-Bush lyrics at a Pearl Jam webcast, and Verizon blocked NARAL from using its SMS network to facilitate political organizing.

Stories such as these, combined with a strong bias toward freedom of expression and communication, lead me to my strong belief in the concept of net neutrality. Stay tuned, and consider attending Freedom to Connect in Silver Spring next month.

Labels: blog, blogging, freepress, netneutrality, savetheinternet

   Link: http://www.savetheinternet.com/

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