Hello. Today I woke up and found this letter in my inbox. Parsing it a little, I think Kohl is mostly in favor of upholding net neutrality, but doesn't want to rule out some telecommunications prioritizations quite yet. On the whole, this is mostly positive, much like Senator Kohl himself.
Herb Kohl, I might add, is the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks. He's a better Democrat than basketball team owner, for what that's worth. We haven't had a real successful season in years. Years, I tell ya.
Anyway, the letter's on the flip. Enjoy!
Dear Mr. Paisano:
Thank you for taking the time to contact me with your
concerns about the Internet and net neutrality. I value the
correspondence I get from people back home in Wisconsin. I
apologize for the delay in my response and would like to take this
opportunity to address your concerns.
As you may know, "net neutrality" refers to the concept
that Internet network operators should be neutral conduits of
content. In other words, phone, cable, and other companies that
operate Internet networks should not be permitted to favor or
prioritize some Internet traffic over other traffic.
Internet network operators have recently argued they
should be permitted to charge higher rates for some types of
content and services than others. This would give network
operators the ability to sell priority status to content providers. In
exchange for a fee, certain content would receive priority over
general traffic and move from point to point more quickly.
Network operators claim these fees would permit network
upgrades and the creation of new services. They also argue this
tiered service option would benefit consumers by managing
Internet traffic more effectively and therefore offering a higher
speed Internet.
Internet content providers are generally opposed to any
attempt to undermine the current impartiality of the Internet.
These companies, which provide the "content" of the Internet,
believe net neutrality is crucial for the continued growth and
success of the Internet. Content providers argue that permitting
priority pricing on the Internet would restrict consumer choice and
activity and would fundamentally undermine the Internet.
I appreciate knowing your thoughts about net neutrality and
the Internet. After a number of hearings before the Senate
Commerce Committee, Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) introduced S.
2686, the "Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband
Deployment Act," on May 1, 2006. Although the bill provides
sweeping telecommunications reforms, in such areas universal
service reform, video franchising, interoperability of public safety
communications systems, and municipal broadband ownership,
some have raised concerns regarding insufficient provisions to
ensure net neutrality. This legislation was passed by the
Commerce Committee on June 28, 2006.
In response to these concerns, Senator Olympia Snowe (R-
ME) introduced S. 2917, the "Internet Freedom Preservation Act,"
on May 19, 2006. This legislation would amend the
Communications Act of 1934 to ensure net neutrality. This
legislation has also been referred to the Commerce Committee,
where a consensus on the issue of net neutrality has yet to be
reached.
You may be interested to know that on June 14, 2006, the
Judiciary Committee, on which I serve, recently held a hearing
entitled, "Reconsidering Our Communications Laws: Ensuring
Competition and Innovation," during which Members heard
testimony on a number of issues concerning telecommunications,
in particular, the competitive implications of net neutrality. As the
Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on
Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, you can be
sure that I am committed to developing policies that foster greater
competition among service and content providers and lead to a
wider service selection and lower rates to consumers. We must
ensure that consumers have unfettered access to all internet content
free from discrimination and that broadband providers do not
determine winners and losers on the information superhighway.
However, at the same time, broadband providers need to be able to
manage their networks so that the profusion of video content does
not degrade the internet experience for everyone.
You can be assured I will continue to closely monitor this
issue to ensure that consumers enjoy the benefits of a competitive
telecommunications market. Again, thank you for contacting me
about this important issue. I appreciate having the benefit of your
views.
Sincerely,
Herb Kohl
U.S. Senator