NYC LOCAL: Monday 26 June 2006 NYSIA: Meeting on Net Neutrality

[secretary]

In 2005 the Supreme Court of the United States of America
affirmed a decision of the Federal Communications Commission that
the duopoly of the telephone company and the cable company will
no longer be regulated under the rule of common carriage when
transporting Internet packets.  This is why there is today a
large public discussion of what is often called "network
neutrality".

The Internet was built on a lower layer of publically available
telecommunications infrastructure, which infrastructure was
subject to the old, reasonable, and necessary to commerce, rule
of common carriage.  Today the duopoly seeks to seize every new
form of communication that uses the Internet.

NYSIA will meet at 6:00 pm Monday 26 June 2006 to hear from both
sides.  If you are not a NYSIA member, there is an entrance fee.

Below my signature is full information about the meeting, taken
from the NYSIA web page for the event:

http://www.nysia.org/events/calendar_disp.cfm?me_id=491


There is no actual "network neutrality" debate.  Rather there is
a barrage of lies from the duopoly, and a wide effort, by those
who know what the Net is, to correct the lies.  The duopoly
argues that they have a right to look inside every packet you
send and receive via Net transport, and extort extra money from
you because, without common carriage, they can.  The duopoly is
indeed a duopoly and has a chokehold on fast Net transport for
most people in the USA.  The duopoly's plan is neither doubtful,
nor secret.  The duopoly has repeatedly, publically, declared
that they intend to make you pay more for the timely transport of
packets which you really want delivered, such as voice over
Internet Protocol packets, and packets to and from Google, and
banking packets, etc..

The Duopoly is a government created duopoly, and the contract
under which we rent rights of way to them includes the
requirement of common carriage.  We who fight to keep the Net
free must keep fighting to expose the lies of the Duopoly.  This
meeting is a good place to start, if you can afford the entrance
fee.  There will be equally important meetings without entrance
fee in the next few months.


NYSIA:

http://www.nysia.org

Introductions to Net Neutrality:

http://dig.csail.mit.edu/breadcrumbs/node/132
http://dig.csail.mit.edu/breadcrumbs/blog/4
http://gigaom.com/2006/02/06/net-neutrality-not-an-optional-feature-of-internet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_neutrality
http://dpsproject.com
http://www.savetheinternet.com
http://www.newnetworks.com/scandals.htm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/22/net_neut_a_killer
http://www.publicknowledge.org/taxonomy/term/62%2C0/all
http://www.voip-news.com/news/net-neutrality-debate
https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr003=gf02m5u5x1.app13b&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=223


Jay Sulzberger <secretary@lxny.org>
Corresponding Secretary LXNY
LXNY is New York's Free Computing Organization.
http://www.lxny.org


 Monday, June 26, 2006

 NYSIA Monthly Meeting

 6:00 PM - 8:15 PM

 JPMorgan Chase, 270 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, between 47th & 48th Streets

 Directions:
 4, 5, 7 to 42nd Street/Grand Central (exit through MetLife); 6 to
 51st Street; B, D, F, V to 47-50th Rockefeller Center

 Admission:
 Free for NYSIA Members,
 $30 for non-members,
 $40 for walk-in non-members.

 Registration: Go to
 https://www.nysia.org/regandmem/register.cfm?eventID=491
 or
 call (212) 475-4503.
 There is not guaranteed entrance for walk-in attendees.

 Registration closes:
 Monday, June 26, 12:30 PM


 Whither the Internet? The Net Neutrality Debate

 Net Neutrality: equal treatment in handling to all content on the Internet.  

 The Net Neutrality debate is roiling Washington. Two mighty
 coalitions face off against each other - and each side is full of
 strange bedfellows. "PRO" Net Neutrality: Microsoft, Google, and
 the Open Source Movement. "AGAINST": Verizon, AT&T, the cable
 companies - and Steve Forbes!

 This is a debate that to a great extent will determine what the
 Internet will look like in the second decade of the 21st
 Century. NYSIA's June Monthly meeting features a panel that
 explores the different aspects of the issue.

 Watch for more speakers and panelists.


 Speakers:

 James Gattuso, Senior Research Fellow, Heritage Foundation
 Tim Karr, Campaign Director, Free Press, blogger, MediaCitizen
 George Ou, Technical Director, TechRepublic.com (live from
            San Francisco, through the wonders of the Internet)


 James Gattuso

 Gattuso handles regulatory and telecommunications issues for The
 Heritage Foundation. Prior to joining Heritage, he was Vice
 President for Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. In
 that position, he oversaw CEI's policy work, and supervised the
 overall management of the organization.

 Before joining CEI in 1997, Mr. Gattuso served as Vice President
 for Policy Development with Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE)
 from 1993 to 1997, where he directed the research activities of
 that organization. From 1990 to 1993, he was Deputy Chief of the
 Office of Plans and Policy at the Federal Communications
 Commission.

 From May 1991 to June 1992, he was detailed from the FCC to the
 office of Vice President Dan Quayle, where he served as Associate
 Director of the President's Council on Competitiveness.

 From 1985 to 1990, Mr. Gattuso served as a policy analyst for the
 Heritage Foundation with responsibility for a broad range of
 issues, including telecommunications, transportation and
 antitrust policy.

 From 1983 to 1985, he was an associate with the Washington law
 office of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey, where he handled matters
 before a number of regulatory agencies.

 Mr. Gattuso graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of
 Southern California in 1979. He received his J.D. degree from the
 University of California at Los Angeles in 1983, where he was a
 member of the UCLA Law Review.

 He is a member of the California and District of Columbia bars
 and is the author of a number of articles written for newspapers,
 magazines and journals.


 Tim Karr

 Campaign Director Timothy Karr oversees Free Press campaigns and
 outreach efforts, including campaigns on public broadcasting and
 noncommercial media, fake news and propaganda, journalism in
 crisis, and the future of the Internet. Before joining Free
 Press, Tim served as executive director of MediaChannel.org and
 vice president of Globalvision New Media and the Globalvision
 News Network. He has also worked extensively as an editor,
 reporter and photojournalist for the Associated Press. Tim
 critiques, analyzes and reports on media and media policy in his
 popular blog, MediaCitizen, at http://mediacitizen.blogspot.com.


 George Ou

 George Ou, the Technical Director of TechRepublic, is a former IT
 consultant specializing in Servers, Microsoft, Cisco, Switches,
 Routers, Firewalls, IDS, VPN, Wireless LAN, Security, and IT
 infrastructure and architecture.  Mr. Ou has first hand
 experience designing and implementing the technologies that build
 the data centers and the Internet.

 Position: George Ou is against overreaching government
 regulations that ban tiered pricing on enhanced services.  Mr. Ou
 believes that since the FCC has already shown a willingness to
 stop ISPs from blocking Internet destinations and newer laws will
 add even stiffer fines, there is no need for additional Net
 neutrality provisions that completely ban tiered pricing on
 enhanced services.