WSIS/Barton-Dingell/Television Sans Frontiers
Bob Shaw, Internet strategy and policy adviser at ITU's Strategy & Policy unit, ties together many strands in today's Washington Internet Daily [not available online, but a fine publication nonetheless].
He sees Barton-Dingell as an “Internet-era type regulation.” He sees the Television Sans Frontiers directive as the same kind of thing. I'm confident that he sees ITU's NGN initiatives the same way.
We're heading into a world in which network providers want more control over competitive services. For those of us who are loath to encourage governments to get involved in network management, this is a difficult moment. In a world without choices, what does it mean if no network manager wants to provide (or is allowed to provide) access to an open internet? How can the market fix this problem if no market actors are interested in fixing it?
So for those of you who wonder why I'm concerned about networks blocking Skype (after all, why can't networks managers be free too?) here's my answer: it's a difficult time. Asking for nondiscrimination (simple rules) is better than giving up.