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"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."  -Aristotle

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Net Neutrality: The Electicity Analogy

Brian has one of the best analogies I've seen in the net neutrality debate. (via Lessig). "What the telecoms are threatening to do", he says, "is to charge a premium for how the utility is used, not for how much of it is used."

Only published comments... Jan 03 2007, 07:14 AM by Tim

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Hands Off Please said:

Tim, the analogy is flawed and doesn't make sense. Unlike electricity, the internet and e-commerce sector is growing exponentially. It seems that the telecoms are already implementing some of Lessig's points on usage but our entire internet's infrastructure must undergo a series of major upgrades that net neutrality laws will slow down, further relegating the US the slow lane (no pun intended).

Net neutrality is simply a distraction. I work with the Hands Off the Internet Coalition and I don't think we should be adding rules and regulations to fix a problem that doesn't exist.  

January 5, 2007 7:51 AM
   

Tim said:

I disagree. I think the analogy is fitting if you view network bandwidth as a (limited) resource, and the exponential growth of the Internet doesn't destroy the analogy.

I do agree that more regulation - whether for or against neutrality - is not the answer. Ultimately, I think network neutrality is desirable but something we can achieve through competitive markets, and not regulation (ESPECIALLY when that regulation is being pushed by guys like Stevens who clearly don't understand how this stuff all works).

January 5, 2007 8:45 AM