Internet Infrastructure and Regulation

March 29

In this class, we will cover the politics, policy, economics and technology of deploying broadband infrastructure. We will look at the year-old US National Broadband Plan and the Berkman Center review of international experiences in broadband policy. Additionally, we will look at the substance and politics of the net neutrality debate.

Slides: Internet Infrastructure and Regulation

Readings

• Executive Summary of the National Broadband Plan [1]

• National Broadband Plan Commission Meeting: National Purposes Update, February 18th 2010 [2]

• Next Generation Connectivity: A review of broadband Internet transitions and policy from around the world, Berkman Center [3]

• Net Neutrality 101 [4]

• More Confusion about Internet Freedom [5]

• Hands Off the Internet [6]

Optional Readings

• The Federal Communications Commission
• National Broadband Plan
• OpenInternet.gov
• The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
• The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
• The Telecommunications Act of 1996
• FCC - Wireless Spectrum Auctions
• Powell's Four Freedoms

Links from Class

Fed Judge Kimba Wood Calls Record Companies' Request for Trillions in Damages Absurd in LimeWire Copyright Case The most interesting part of the article is not the outrageousness of the record companies' claims, but the way the judge reached her decision. She stated that legislature could not have foreseen the way the internet would interact with copyright law, and thus you can't use legislative history. Reasonableness, instead, was the issue to rule on.

Wall Street Journal Op Ed by Yochai Benkler Ending the Internet’s Trench Warfare March 20, 2010 "The Federal Communications Commission’s National Broadband Plan, announced last week, is aimed at providing nearly universal, affordable broadband service by 2020. And while it takes many admirable steps — including very important efforts toward opening space in the broadcast spectrum — it does not address the source of the access problem: without a major policy shift to increase competition, broadband service in the United States will continue to lag far behind the rest of the developed world." --Gclinch 23:32, 28 March 2011 (UTC)

New America Foundation link concerning differing broadband service and pricing in the US vs that in Japan: http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/u_s_vs_japan_residential_internet_service_provision_pricing The brief posted is from 2009 and contains a generous quantity of data which should serve to give you a clear idea of the difference in service availability between the US and a country which is considered to be half a generation ahead of the international standard.BrandonAndrzej 00:28, 30 March 2011 (UTC)

In a thread on Reddit.com yesterday, members of Google's Chrome development team shared how fast their office's Internet connection is. Can you guess the number?

NPR brings us news from the House. The Rebublican majority voted to repeal rules that protect net neutrality. I doubt with will fly in the Senate like the article says. Article: House Votes To Repeal Internet Access Rules Saambat 22:50, 19 April 2011 (UTC)