by Bob Dorf
Finally, there’s a slight wisp of sanity in the FCC’s view on the proposal to create a high-priced “fast lane” on the Internet. Thursday’s New York Times reports, “Federal regulators appear to share one view about so-called net neutrality: It is a good thing.” While the battle is far from over, for sure, it’s perhaps the first positive sign that there’s hope for startups.<p>Why is net neutrality so important to startups? If CNN and Disney, Netflix and NBC can all pay Comcast and Verizon to “push” their content faster and ahead of companies without zillions, it puts any startup company at a severe, perhaps deadly disadvantage. It’s classic “big money runs big government,” and as undemocratic as life can get.<p>Roughly 60 days ago, on the World Wide Web’s 25th birthday(March 14 if you missed it) Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of “www,” cried out for “net neutrality,” without the prioritization that a recent Federal court case suggested was totally ok. p>Remember January 2011, when Egypt’s struggling government actually turned off the internet to stifle protests? Or China’s choking internet pipes to stifle free speech? Yes, founders, this is far more toxic than slowdowns of monthly users or page views!<p>To understand “net neutrality” just type “avc.com” into your browser, where Fred Wilson shows us exactly what happens.<p>We’re clearly not out of the woods yet. All that actually happened yesterday was the FCC’s agreeing to “open the debate.” This will bring big gun lobbying pressure that maims startups(not to mention oppressed folks striving to be heard. Their budgets are usually even smaller.) As the Times says, “before the plan becomes final, though, chairman Tom Wheeler, will need to convince his colleagues and an array of powerful lobbying groups that the plan follows the principle of net neutrality.”<p>
Write Hon. Thomas Wheeler, Chair, FCC, 445 12th Street SW, Washington DC, 20554.