Pro Net Neutrality Documents Access-fee bill roils Net phone industry Telecoms defend premium charge; others fear it will stifle innovation By Hiawatha Bray Boston Globe September 14, 2006 Article Link As Congress debates disputed Internet neutrality laws, supporters and defenders of the concept of equal pricing for all on the Web faced off yesterday at the VON (Voice Over the Net) trade show in Boston. Jonathan Banks, vice president for regulatory affairs at telecommunications company BellSouth Corp., said it's only fair that his company should charge extra to Internet firms that want a superior level of high-speed service. Net neutrality laws ``will kind of put the kibosh on that kind of innovative pricing," said Banks, causing telecom companies to invest less money in broadband technology. But Susan Crawford, associate professor at Yeshiva University's Cardozo Law School, said that BellSouth's innovation would freeze out many new Internet companies that would be unable to pay for access to the premium online service. ``Society as a whole requires that the Internet allow for the greatest diversity possible," said Crawford. The showdown occurred at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, host to the nation's biggest trade show for companies using Internet technology to deliver telephone calls. Thousands of businesses use Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) systems to get phone service that's cheaper and more versatile than that offered by traditional phone companies. A study by Infonetics Research Inc. estimates that companies worldwide will spend $8.34 billion on VOIP-based telephone systems by 2008. But these Internet phone networks are connected to the public Internet, and some experts worry that telecom companies will soon begin assessing premium access fees that presently don't exist online. Christopher Libertelli, director of government and regulatory affairs for Internet phone service Skype, said that without a net neutrality law, the telephone and cable TV companies ``would fundamentally change the architecture of the Internet and break it into a two-tier system." Companies like Skype would have to negotiate premium access agreements with every broadband provider in the United States to ensure high-quality service. Scott Cleland , chairman of the telecom lobbying group NetCompetition.org, claimed that the entire net neutrality debate is ``bogus." He said there has been only one case in which an Internet provider tried to block a competitor's access to the network. In that case, the Federal Communications Commission forced the Internet provider to back down. ``Existing laws are more than sufficient here," Cleland said. Questions and comments from VON conference attendees suggested that many industry experts are conflicted about the value of Net neutrality laws. So is Congress, which must contend with ferocious lobbying from giant firms on either side of the issue. Telephone and cable television companies don't want additional regulation, but huge Internet firms like eBay, Microsoft Corp., and Google Inc. don't want the Internet companies to hit them with millions of dollars in new fees. The US House of Representatives this year passed a telecom reform bill that didn't contain net neutrality language. A similar measure was expected to pass this year in the Senate. But Republican Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, chairman of the Commerce Committee, said this week that a deadlock over Net neutrality could kill the telecom reform bill for this year.