A Victory for Net Neutrality?

Dr. Tim Wu at SavetheInternet.com says that the recent concession by AT&T, preserving the principle of Net Neutrality for 24 months at the least, is a big moment in the preservation of the Internet.

The language in the agreement is written for a purpose: to preserve the most attractive features of the Internet as it now exists. Some perspective may be useful. In the 20th Century, at crucial points, technologies like radio and the recording industry moved from being lively and vital decentralized industries toward much more centralized control, often due to misguided government policy and industry consolidation. Stated simply, this agreement forms part of a general movement to prevent a similar fate for the Internet.

At a level of theory, the language in the agreement is premised on a belief in the merits of a neutral network, and in particular its cultural, political, and economic benefits. The preservation of an open communications network as a catalyst for these sectors, without unfairly restricting AT&T's business, appears to be the motivating force behind the agreed upon language.

As I read it, the agreement stands for a period of 24 months, at which time AT&T can go back on it with impunity. I can see the lobbyists lining up now to sunset Net Neutrality upon expiration in 2009. And while they're the big boys on the block, AT&T is not the only telecommunications company looking to install a toll booth on the Internet.

So the Congress still needs to act. This agreement, hammered out as a condition of the AT&T merger with BellSouth (welcome back, Ma Bell monopoly!), provides a path for Congress to follow. But unless they do so, and boldly, we'll be dealing with this issue again 24 months down the road.