Following a lengthy process that included discussions with industry and advocates on all sides of the issue, CDT today issued a major paper on the subject of Internet Neutrality. In it, we call on Congress to enact narrowly tailored legislation to preserve the essential neutrality and openness of the Internet. We believe firmly that if there is a telecom bill this year, Internet neutrality needs to be part of it.

Given the amount of energy and effort that went into crafting this document, I’ll simply suggest that you read it, rather than attempt to synopsize it here. Suffice to say, we feel our approach makes a crucial distinction between Internet neutrality and the more amorphous concept of “net neutrality,” and strikes a vital balance between preserving the essential neutral nature of the Internet, without unduly impinging on the ability of broadband companies to experiment with alternative business models on the non-Internet portion of their networks.

In the paper we also encourage all stakeholders in this process to engage in a serious dialogue about the future of the neutral Internet. We need buy-in from everyone involved in this issue to ensure that we get it right the first time.

You can also read our press release and a separate paper on the topic we commissioned from CDT board member Daniel Weitzner. The Associated Press also has a good story out on our announcement.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 20th, 2006 at 5:23 pm and is filed under Internet Neutrality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.