Demystifying Net Neutrality
Webinar Presented by The Diffusion Group and VideoNuze
Will Richmond, VideoNuze; Collin Dixon, The Diffusion Group; Barbara Esbin, Progress & Freedom Foundation; Chris Riley, Free Press
Feb. 4, 2010

The Diffusion Group and VideoNuze presented a roundtable webinar discussing the background of net neutrality and where the discussion is going.

Dixon provided background information, noting that the term net neutrality is often misunderstood. He said it generally refers to rules that would govern how high-speed Internet providers operate their broadband networks, and the main goal is to ensure no preferential treatment for or discrimination against any particular type of traffic.

Esbin said net neutrality remains a solution in search of a problem after years of policy debate. If it isn’t broke, she said, then don’t break it. Let the free-market regulate itself.

Esbin added that utility-type regulation is ill-suited for the fast-moving information technology sector. Esbin added that the FCC does not have express regulatory authority over Internet services or IT services.

Riley took the opposing view. He said net neutrality is not a solution in search of a problem but rather represents fundamental protections for consumers and innovation. Riley argued that discrimination against certain content by Internet providers harms some types of data transfer.

Capacity increases on networks can handle “exaflood” but cannot eliminate all congestion, he added, and some reasonable network management is needed.

Riley also discussed the file-sharing network BitTorrent in the context of net neutrality. He said that while BitTorrent users do consume a lot of network resources, network management cannot be allowed to limit applications because of that.

See the webinar in full here.