Save The Internet

Net Neutrality's Quiet Crusader

Stevie Converse — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 05:15:35 -0700

Bearing video cameras, laptops and cellphones, a small army of young activists flooded into a recent federal meeting in protest. Members of public-interest group Free Press weren't there to support a presidential candidate or decry global warming.

FCC Debates Open Internet at April 17 Stanford Hearing

Holiday Shapiro — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:34:24 -0700

Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it will hold a second public hearing on the future of the Internet on April 17 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.

FCC Public Hearing on Broadband Network Management Practices

Stevie Converse — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:02:08 -0700

Start: 04/17/2008 - 03:00

Timezone: Etc/GMT-4

The Commission will hear from expert panelists regarding broadband network management practices and Internet-related issues.

Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008 (H.R. 5353)

Migrated Content — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:52:41 -0700

The Internet Freedom Preservation Act (H.R. 5353), introduced by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), would establish a national broadband policy and would direct the FCC to conduct summits to assess competition, consumer protection and other issues related to broadband Internet access.

Bell's Internet Throttling Illegal, Google Says

Stevie Converse — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:28:53 -0700

Google Inc. says Bell Canada Inc. is breaking Canadian telecommunications law by slowing certain internet traffic, and is urging the CRTC to take action against the company.

Court Says FCC Should Decide Net Neutrality Issues

Stevie Converse — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:04:15 -0700

A federal judge in California has suspended proceedings in a subscriber's lawsuit against Comcast while the Federal Communications Commission completes its investigation into whether the company violated net neutrality principles by slowing traffic to peer-to-peer sites.

The Net Neutrality Debate: Still Sizzling

Stevie Converse — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:53:11 -0700

The Internet is the greatest technical development of the 20th century, and its open competition model has been the envy of other market sectors. Internet advances are being crushed by monopolistic carriers who are more concerned with censoring content than delivering services to customers.

New Tool Would Help Internet Providers Thwart File-Sharing

Stevie Converse — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:13:17 -0700

Internet providers who selectively slow certain kinds of traffic on their networks, such as file-sharing, could soon have a new tool at their disposal to prevent savvy users from evading the speed controls.

Research by Italian engineers shows how providers like Bell and Rogers can use statistical methods to curb internet traffic even when the content is encrypted.

Encryption Might Not Protect Net Neutrality

Stevie Converse — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:40:30 -0700

Network researchers in Italy published a paper in IEEE Communications last month on " Detection of Encrypted Tunnels across Network Boundaries" (pdf) that might lead to technical means for those wanting to censor Internet traffic - think authoritarian governments (cough, China) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) throttling Internet Service Providers (ISPs) - to target particular user sessions for " management

Another ISP Delays Using Behavioral Targeting System

Stevie Converse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:19:57 -0700

A week after Charter Communications backpedaled on plans to implement NebuAds' controversial behavioral tracking and ad serving platform, another of the vendor's ISP partners has put on the brakes.

Verizon's Fiber Guru Talks Strategy

Stevie Converse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 06:35:17 -0700

There's no question that Verizon Communications hit a home run with its aggressive fiber strategy.

The fiber-to-the-home network called Fios has enabled Verizon to supercharge broadband speeds and compete against cable in the TV market.

FCC to Discuss Digital Future at Pittsburgh Hearing

Stevie Converse — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:55:16 -0700

Today, the Federal Communications Commission announced it will hold a public hearing about broadband and the digital future in Pittsburgh on July 21.

Last week, industry, advocacy, academic and financial leaders launched InternetforEveryone.org -- a groundbreaking initiative to make access to a fast, open and affordable Internet a basic right for all Americans.

Addressing Anti-Competitive Behavior on the Internet

Stevie Converse — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:37:16 -0700

In an effort to address the anti-competitive behavior that impacts various aspects Internet and technologies markets, as well as their vital markets for ideas, the Personal Democracy Forum brought together panelists representing the “little-guy” innovators of the technology industry.

Sandvine Calls Net Neutrality 'Laughable,' Defends Filtering

Stevie Converse — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:08:42 -0700

Sandvine creates deep packet inspection (DPI) gear that is used by ISPs like Comcast to inspect and sometimes throttle Internet traffic, and the company has been the target of a fair amount of online ire for its work.

We Need to Embrace Peer-to-Peer, Says Verisign

Stevie Converse — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:44:26 -0700

Having once been brought to its knees by Napster, the entertainment industry may have to look to the site for its future.

The smooth running of the internet may depend on a technology that has long been synonymous with illegal downloading and online piracy, one of the foremost authority's on network infrastructure has said.

Free Internet Is Part of New FCC Airwaves Auction

Stevie Converse — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:49:09 -0700

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday said it wants to auction a section of wireless airwaves to buyers willing to provide free broadband Internet service without pornography.

The United States Needs More Internet

Stevie Converse — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:48:18 -0700

Scott Jagow: How much Internet access does one country need? Apparently, this country needs a lot more. Consumer groups say the U.S. lags behind other nations in broadband service. The FCC will look into this a bit more today at a hearing. Janet Babin has more from our Innovations Desk at North Carolina Public Radio.

Virgin Media Rubbishes P2P Throttling Rumors

Stevie Converse — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:42:05 -0700

Virgin Media has today strongly denied a charge it is running secret tests with a view to introducing new bandwidth throttling hardware to target peer to peer and Usenet downloaders.

Three Myths About the Internet That Refuse to Die

Stevie Converse — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 06:22:23 -0700

Since I started writing this column in 1999, I've seen a thousand Internet businesses rise and die. I've watched the Web go from a medium you access via dial-up to the medium you carry around with you on your mobile. Still, there are three myths about the Internet that refuse to kick the bucket.

Online Bandwidth Hogs to Be Cut Off at Trough?

Stevie Converse — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 16:05:45 -0700

The era of carefree, unlimited Internet browsing and downloading might be coming to an end.

Industry leaders Comcast and Time Warner Cable have started testing traffic-metering and management techniques that seek to rein in heavy usage, and AT&T says such limits are inevitable for the most extreme users of its network.