Moyers on America features an episode on The Net at Risk: Airing next week in the U.S. (check your local listings), this episode--one of three in this series airing the same week--looks at the U.S. approach to the Internet and broadband, and why we're lagging so far behind the rest of the developed world. There's a subsegment on Community Connections, focused on Lafayette, Louisiana's efforts to build its own, city-run fiber-optic network and the full-court press that telcos placed upon its plans. The Lafayette effort wasn't the first time a city built a municipal network, but it was part of what fired off the current debate, now two years old, about the appropriate role of cities and private enterprise in assuring ubiquitous high-speed network service--and whether we actually need that service everywhere. I watched a preview segment online, and the argument seems heavily tilted in favor of Lafayette. [link via Jeffrey]
Be forewarned that Moyers has a clear pro net neutrality slant in this piece. This is surprising given his objective claim and his previous work. I work with the Hands Off the Internet coalition on the other side of the issue. From what I have seen and read about the Moyers piece he fails to address the potential negative consequences with net neutrality regulations, namely increased bureaucracy and litigation. As this Patriot News op-ed points out;
"Creating new regulations is not the answer. With 'net neutrality,' a new bureaucracy would be required to handle the endless litigation these rules will cause. That's more taxpayer dollars to fund the expensive and unnecessary interference with the Internet. When the market and economic forces of competition are working successfully, why are we manufacturing a problem to fit this pseudo solution?"
http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/asiseeit/index.ssf?/base/columnists/1160516403123950.xml&coll=1#continue
Just some information so everyone gets the whole story.