[IP] more on A battle for the soul of the Internet
Begin forwarded message:
From: jean_camp <jean_camp@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: June 10, 2005 10:37:31 AM EDT
To: dave@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [IP] A battle for the soul of the Internet
If Uganda wants to connect to the US under internationally negotiated
ITU tariffs the US carrier and the carrier from Uganda bill according
to each others' rates. They split the physical cost of connectivity.
If Uganda wants to connect to the US under peering guidelines,
Uganda pays for the entire provision of the physical connectivity and
then pays to connect to the larger network.
What is being defended is the right of the backbone providers to
leverage the economics of networks in order to maximize their
revenue. There is nothing wrong with revenue maximization but it is
not some Holy Foundation Of The Internet. And let us not be confused,
this is a battle over money and power, not spiritual dimensions. The
incumbents hold the resources not in trust for the public but in
order to maximize their value for the shareholders. The freedom to
connect is not being championed by the incumbent holders of resources
or the Freedom to Connect would not be an issue.
While I believe that Elliot and George believe that the battle is
over the "soul" of the Internet, a good part of the battle is over
the wallets of George's and Elliot's sponsors. I am sure these are
honorable gentleman, but what you see depends on where you sit. Maybe
they should take a seat at WSIS for a moment, rather than trying to
march on the meeting with torches. They might even discover that
there are some good people to nominate.
-Jean
On Jun 6, 2005, at 12:33 PM, David Farber wrote:
It is important to remember that we all rely on the rich ecosystem
that is the free Internet. We are all beneficiaries of the
innovation
it spawns, the information it provides and the interaction it
supports. We cannot take this for granted.
-------------------------------------
You are subscribed as roessler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To manage your subscription, go to
http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip
Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/