[10609] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
CCN's Clarification re: Internet Local Loop
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Richard Civille)
Mon Feb 28 01:57:36 1994
Date: Mon, 28 Feb 1994 00:05:01 -0500 (EST)
From: Richard Civille <rciville@civicnet.org>
Reply-To: Richard Civille <rciville@civicnet.org>
To: com-priv@psi.com, telecomreg@relay.adp.wisc.edu
We've been having an interesting discussion on this list over the past few
days about local loop access to the Internet -- and also whether there should
be some kind of non-profit email rate akin to fourth class postage. For
the position of the Center for Civic Networking, we think it's pretty
important to make the following distinction:
* Local loop access to the Internet (getting from a regulated place to an
un-regulated place) is one issue.
* Non-profit email rates is an ENTIRELY separate issue.
We believe strongly in flat-rate access to the Internet and we take a
position here. We also think that non-profit email rates will eventually
become a Universal Service issue someday within the National
Information Infrastructure that the Internet is precursor to.
The first issue: flat-rate access to the Internet is a live one, and we
think should be advocated for, now. The second issue: non-profit email
rates -- deserves a lot of study. There is for example, a proposal from
the Alliance for Public Technology and also Taxpayers Assets Project that
address this.
While we undertand the importance of developing new definitions of
Universal Service, we share concerns with many on these lists that advocating
now for non-profit email, or other types rates could open up a regulatory
can-o-worms where there presently is no need or desire. Let the Internet
be. When we're really talking the NII, this issue may come back in some
form at a more appropriate time.
However, we are very concerned about the local-loop access issue as the
Internet continues to grow. Local loop access is a regulatory issue because
the local-loop is still regulated, and may be for quite some time.
What follows is the Center for Civic Networking's stated policy position
on local-loop access to the Internet. It's in our paper: "A National
Strategy for Civic Networking", published in October, 1993 and available
on our gopher server. It ain't perfect but here it is:
"Collocation Tariff for Flat-rate Data Service: The Information
Infrastructure Task Force should immediately propose that the Federal
Communications Commission study appropriate local-loop tariffs that can
support non-profit, educational, small-business and residential access to
the Internet. In particular, a co-location tariff for flat-rate packet
data service would allow entrepreneurial vendors to provide affordable
Internet access to small businesses, non-profit agencies, schools,
libraries, municipal agencies, and individual households. CCN will work
to develop a model tariff."
We are concerned that combining any proposal for a non-profit email, or
other rates together with a proposal for a flat-rate data service to the
Internet are two VERY different things.
We presently would endorse proposals that support our stated position, but
we would be very reluctant to support any proposal that would regulate the
Internet itself. We are however, open to the debate of what a non-profit
email rate would look like in the furture and how it might work within the
ccontext of a National Information Infrastructure.
I hope this clarifies where we're coming from, and if our take on this is
a position you could support, please let us know and let's have some
discussion on this list about it.
Thank you.
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Center for Civic Networking Richard Civille
P.O. Box 65272 Washington Director
Washington, DC 20035 rciville@civicnet.org
(202) 362-3831
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