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.
Comcast 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
Share this articleCDT Comments on Pending FCC Internet Neutrality Petitions - In comments filed today, CDT urged the Federal Communications Commission not to impose formal rules regulating the techniques broadband Internet providers use to manage traffic on their networks. CDT also warned, however, that actions by network operators to degrade particular online services or applications raise serious concerns for competition and innovation. CDT recommended that the Commission add a new non-degradation or non-discrimination principle to its existing broadband Policy Statement, and stressed that any network management policy that involves degrading some traffic should be reasonably transparent, evenly applied, and consistent with core internetworking standards. February 13, 2008
Share this articleVerizon Wireless To Open Network to 3rd Party Devices - Verizon Wireless today announced a groundbreaking plan to open its mobile network to devices and applications developed and sold by third parties. Starting in 2008, in an unprecedented break from industry practice, Verizon will allow customers unrestricted access to its entire wireless network using any device that meets a basic set of connectivity standards. This announcement represents a major development in the evolution of the wireless communications marketplace, and the policy debate over the more closed policies that wireless carriers have followed to date. CDT applauds the new plan and believes it will spur significant innovation and consumer benefit. In addition, CDT believes the plan will impact the ongoing Internet neutrality debate by confirming the benefits of open network architectures. November 27, 2007
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