Much furore over US Broadband policy

Stuart Corner
Monday, 28 July 2008 07:47

Opinion and Analysis

These 'strategic goals' are supported by a series of .performance goals'. For broadband these are stated simply as: Broaden the deployment of broadband technologies; Define broadband to include any platform capable of transmitting high-bandwidth intensive services, applications, and content; Ensure harmonised regulatory treatment of competing broadband services; Encourage and facilitate an environment that stimulates investment and innovation in broadband technologies and services.

The debate of 'net neutrality' has been raging for years in the US and Cerf's comment suggest it is nowhere near to dying down. And  the FCC's aim to adopt regulatory policies "promote technological neutrality, competition, investment, and innovation to ensure that broadband service providers have sufficient incentive to develop and offer such products and services" could well be unachievable because of its internal contradictions.

Juniper Networks' chairman Scott Kriens in a teleconference press interview last week said: "The network is a resources that is not free. Anything that isn’t free has to be partitioned in some way otherwise there is no way to pay for it. That doesn't mean you have to restrict access to the network in total, but there are people who will want to have premium access to that network and will be willing to pay for it, and help make it cheaper for everyone else."

Should be plenty to keep the FCC busy trying to achieve its strategic goal amidst these polarised viewpoints.