Broadband wars II. If you want to get an idea about how bad the broadband future will be, you need only read this letter from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association describing how good (from their perspective) the broadband future will be.... [Lessig Blog]
[Note: The "letter" that Lessig links to above is a large and slow-loading PDF file.] This longish blog entry by Larry Lessig discusses the future of broadband, in this case cable Internet access. The issue at stake is whether cable providers should have the right to discriminate in content provision. Think about this for a moment. If you have cable modem service through AOL Time Warner's Roadrunner division, and you want to download a movie trailer or a short film offered by Viacom's Paramount division, should Roadrunner have the right to deny you access to that content? Should Roadrunner have the right to slow down that content before it reaches your computer? Disney and Microsoft are leading a coalition that says, "No." Think about this for a moment. In this case, on this issue, Disney and Microsoft are the white hats. Their coalition apparently sent the FCC a letter urging regulation to prevent cable providers from discriminating against competitors' content. The NCTA have sent a letter taking the other side. This is important, if you're a broadband user. Whether you read these letters isn't that important. What's important is that you know this is going on.