An increasing array of issues is currently being debated under the heading of "net neutrality," and dialogue surrounding this concept is rapidly gaining strength. At the heart of the net neutrality debate is whether the Internet, the Web, and associated technologies will continue to thrive as an open platform for innovation and free expression and what policies, if any, are necessary to ensure that they will. In an effort to answer questions so central to CDT’s vision, CDT has been working hard to gather information and gain understanding regarding several critical aspects of the debate: the key technical, economic and regulatory foundations of today's open Internet; future trends in Internet-related technology that with either enable or constrain open platforms in the future; and evolving business models that may encourage or discourage operators of key services toward the open platform status quo that we enjoy today.
FCC Reprimands Comcast in Traffic Management Dispute - The FCC today voted 3-2 to reprimand Comcast for interfering with some of its subscribers' BitTorrent uploads and failing to disclose the action. The ruling is a major development in the long-running debate over "Internet neutrality" and "network management." CDT agrees with the ruling's apparent premise that broadband providers should not target specific applications for inferior treatment and should be much more transparent about network management practices. CDT has serious concerns, however, about the potential breadth of the Commission's assertion of authority and the risk that it could open the door to greater FCC regulatory involvement in Internet issues. The full impact of the ruling will depend on the actual text of the order, which is not yet available. August 01, 2008
Share this articleCDT Policy Post on Network Management - CDT issued a policy post today on the topic of network management. In addition to providing background on the status of the network management and Internet neutrality debate, the document recaps CDT's earlier comments to the FCC. Those comments suggested some high-level principles to guide network management efforts, while cautioning the FCC to avoid formal regulation of network management practices. May 21, 2008
Share this articleComcast To Quit Controversial Congestion Management Practice - Comcast, in a joint statement with BitTorrent, today said that by the end of 2008 it will abandon the controversial practice of responding to network congestion by degrading BitTorrent and other selected peer-to-peer traffic, in favor of a "protocol agnostic" approach. CDT applauds the new announcement because it appears to call for exactly the kind of evenhanded and transparent approach that CDT has advocated. The announcement also calls for cooperation to make peer-to-peer systems more bandwidth-efficient, another welcome development. March 27, 2008
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