Promoting Creativity and Connection
Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) introduced a bill (full text, PDF) on July 31, 2009 to establish a clear national broadband policy that ensures an open and consumer oriented Internet. In a press release from Rep. Markey, he stated, “This bill will protect consumers and content providers because it will restore the guarantee that one does not have to ask permission to innovate.” Rep. Eshoo added that “The Internet has thrived and revolutionized business and the economy precisely because it started as an open technology.” About their bill, H.R. 3458:
H.R. 3458, the Internet Freedom Preservation Act, is designed to assess and promote Internet freedom for consumers and content providers. The bill states that it is the policy of the United States to protect the right of consumers to access lawful content, run lawful applications, and use lawful services of their choice on the Internet while preserving and promoting the open and interconnected nature of broadband networks, enabling consumers to connect to such networks their choice of lawful devices, as long as such devices do not harm the network. The legislation also directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to promulgate several rules relating to enforcement and implementation of the legislation, including rules to ensure that providers of Internet access service fulfill the duties and disclose meaningful information to consumers about a provider’s Internet access service in clear, uniform, and conspicuous manner. H.R. 3458 makes clear that it does not prohibit an Internet access provider from engaging in reasonable network management consistent with the policies and duties of nondiscrimination and openness set forth in the bill, nor does the legislation affect any law or regulation addressing prohibited or unlawful activity, including any laws or regulations prohibiting theft of content.
Yes, there are controversies lately that prompt this legislative action. The controversies include the recent rift between Apple/AT&T and Google Voice, inquiry into exclusive arrangements between wireless carriers and cell phone manufacturers, and what Doc Searls so appropriately calls The Dawn of the Living Infrastructure. It’s time to focus on this issue (again). Citing Doc:
Let’s face it. Mike Arrington’s problem with the iPhone, Om Malik’s problem with AT&T, the FCC’s problem with Apple + AT&T together, my own problems with Cox, Dish Network and Sprint, David Pogue’s problem with the whole freaking cell phone industry … all of these are a great big WAAAH! in the wilderness of industrial oblivity to what customers want. We’re in the graveyard of what Umair Haque calls the zombieconomy. We’re living in Night of the Living Dead and complaining that the zombies want to eat us alive.
What they really want is to strap us down while they bleed us for small change—tiny amounts of ARPU. They do this, for example, by forcing us to sit through “The … number … you … have … dialed … eight … zero … five … seven …” until a small ka-ching happens somewhere deep in their billing system, so you get bled whether or not you’ve left (or received) a message. David Pogue:
Is 15 seconds here and there that big a deal? Well, Verizon has 70 million customers. If each customer leaves one message and checks voicemail once a day, Verizon rakes in — are you sitting down? — $850 million a year. That’s right: $850 million, just from making us sit through those 15-second airtime-eating instructions.
This is death by a thousand paper cuts. More importantly, it’s a tax on innovation and the ability to connect and be creative. Let’s put a stop to it.