Originally published on Medium Nov. 25, 2014.
By Vernon Keenan, CEO of Telnexus, a VoIP Service Provider in Berkeley, CA
The US Government’s role in controlling the future of the Internet is higher now than it has been since the Internet was made public in the 1990’s.
I wonder if this activist knows that Title II rules will increase taxes on the Internet? (Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
With the courts having recently invalidated the FCC’s power to regulate how Internet companies, and with packet shaping going on with the major ISPs, the clamor from the public for something to be done to keep the Internet open is at an all-time high. Now, with President Barack Obama weighing in on the pending regulatory ruling on Net Neutrality by the FCC, activists are cheering for his call for regulation of ISPs and how they deliver services.
It’s not a black and white choice, but as a VoIP service provider, Telnexus favors the imposition of a more regulated Internet as long as certain key features of an Open Internet are maintained and the big ISPs play along.
This post is an excerpt. Read the full post HERE…
In conclusion, at Telnexus we favor the adoption of a Title II-style approach to offering universal services for the Internet. We believe that spreading around the tax burden for communication services is a fairer way for communication service providers to shoulder the responsibility of funding emergency services and universal access.
We also have concerns about how ISPs are controlling access of services to their subscribers, and we favor new regulations that guarantees that subscribers have access all services available on the Internet equally. Finally, any new regulations must also consider the concerns of the ISPs since the United States depends on these big American companies’ willingness to invest in their networks.
