VoIP You

It's been a while since we've talked about the ongoing battle over net neutrality. But the topic is still the leading story in VoIP news. The two sides remain at odds, and policy makers and writers from both sides continue to peck away at each other. For many on the outside, the issue doesn't seem like an issue at all. As Susan Crawford said:

"If you took your average cyber-utopian and plunked him down in a bar in Milwaukee and told him to get everyone excited about net neutrality, he'd be lucky to get out of there unscathed."

Her point that typical consumers simply don't see how all of this affects them is well taken, and whether you're a Brewers fan, a Cubs fan, or even a Dodgers fan, you're probably not spending the 7th inning stretch worrying about net neutrality, equality, or whatever else it might be called. Crawford, like many others, realizes that this is indeed an issue that people across the country should be concerned with. She suggests that:

"In order to get the point across in 2007, we're going to need an affirmative campaign that is neither geeky or wonky or particularly detailed. Something about protecting America's future, or the importance of public investments in critical resources (water, electricity, internet access) -- those kinds of messages might work."

Will a shift in tone will get the message across? In many cases, people will fail to react until they see something that they take for granted change right before their eyes. You might call that the "New Coke theory". Unless, of course, you're too young to remember New Coke. But that's a whole other matter.

The issue over net neutrality was actually summed up quite succinctly by Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee (as relayed by Digital Common Sense):

"Recent attempts in the U.S. to try to charge for different levels of online access Web were not 'part of the Internet model,' he said."

The article goes on to break down the beliefs of Mr. Berners-Lee and those who agree with him:

"The open Internet model...is based on the concept of network neutrality, where everyone has the same level of access to the Web and that all data moving around the Web is treated equally."

To gloss over nuance for a second, those who disagree might suggest that a company that pays more should get more, and that it's merely capitalism working as it should. Of course, when it comes to telecommunications behemoths, capitalism tends to look the other way on the whole monopoly issue, so that might not be the best argument.

Regardless of where you stand, you still have a chance to state your opinion in a creative manner that could be a lot more effective than constant policy talk. Check out Jeff Pulver's "Save the Net Contest" to see how you can make a movie and maybe even make your voice heard.

Fortunately, all of this may be a step closer to being a non-issue after today's 20-13 vote by the House Judiciary Committee  approving a bill that would require broadband providers to abide by "strict" net neutrality principles. That pushes nondiscrimatory operating procedures closer towards being law:

"The lack of competition in the broadband marketplace presents a clear incentive for providers to leverage dominant market power over the broadband bottleneck, to preselect, favor or prioritize Internet content," said Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican who heads the committee.

In an unusual twist, many members of the committee said they were voting for the legislation not because of strong concerns over Net neutrality--but instead because of a turf battle. They said they were worried that a competing proposal already approved by a different committee last month would diminish their own influence in the future.

With that in mind, enjoy the three-day weekend. We'll be back on Tuesday,