Recent OIC activities of note:

On March 9th, The Open Internet Coalition filed a letter with the National Telecommunications Information Agency of the US Department of Commerce supporting the openness provisions of the Broadband Technology Opportunities program, included as part of the recently passed stimulus bill, and asked the NTIA to included specific parameters in the non-discrimination and network interconnection obligations for publicly-funded networks.

On February 24th, the Open Internet Coalition filed initial comments with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission’s (CRTC) review of Internet traffic management practices of Internet Service Providers (ISPs). This filing responds to traffic management techniques by Canadian ISPs that use application throttling – similar to the technique used by Comcast in the US against peer-to-peer applications.

The open Internet in the news:

Obama picks Net neutrality backer as FCC chief, CNET, March 3
“Genachowski is likely to continue the Democratic push for more Net neutrality regulations, which are opposed by some conservatives and telecommunications providers. He was a top Obama technology advisor and aided in crafting a technology platform that supported Net neutrality rules.”

Zillion TV: Hollywood and ISPs Unite, Wired, March 4

“With peer-to-peer traffic gumming up the works at many ISPs, new ideas are emerging around content companies working alongside ISPs to ensure that they are able to deliver HD video, at the expense of other types of traffic. The battle over net neutrality, no longer a vague concept, is beginning in earnest.”

Groups Recommend Rules for Broadband Grants, PC World, March 9

“Government agencies tasked with handing out about US$7 billion in broadband deployment grants over the next couple of years should provide competition in areas where existing services are lacking and should give priority to local broadband providers over national ones, some broadband advocates said Monday.”

The Broadband Gap: Why Do They Have More Fiber? NY Times Bits Blog, March 12, 2009

“…[B]broadband deployment in those countries was spurred by a combination of heavy government involvement, subsidies and lower corporate profits that may be tough for the economic and political system in the United States to accept.”

OIC member news:

On February 26, Free Press released Putting the Angels in the Details: A Roadmap for Broadband Stimulus Success, a set of specific recommendations for the three federal agencies charged with overseeing broadband stimulus funds.

On March 10, The New America Foundation announced that Robb Topolski has been named Chief Technologist for its Open Technology Initiative.

Quotable:

"Where we have a duopoly, we have seen reduced economic activity, reduced investment and reduced innovation." Former Representative Chip Pickering, discussing the need for broadband stimulus investment in new entrants to the broadband market. BBC, March 10.

If you have any announcements or events you would like to have included in this newsletter, please email press@openinternetcoalition.com