While minority adoption was the big issue yesterday as it relates to our broadband priorities, Net neutrality took center stage today at an event sponsored by the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law titled “Implementing the National Broadband Plan: Perspective from Government, Industry and Consumers.”

The lunch session featured a discussion between Adam Thierer, President of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, and Ben Scott, Policy Director at Free Press, both leading (and effective) voices in the debate over whether or not the government should regulate the Internet. Neither one took long to get into the crux of their arguments. Thierer effectively broke down what he described as the “Five Cases Against Net Neutrality,” that included legal, economic, engineering, practical, and philosophical arguments.

To see Thierer describe these five cases in more detail, click on his interview with NextGenWeb following the debate.

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At an event in the U.S. Capitol today hosted by the Internet Innovation Alliance (IIA), Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Inc., a group of leaders in the technology community, led by IIA co-chairs Bruce Mehlman and David Sutphen, discussed findings in a survey performed by former Obama Campaign pollster Cornell Belcher. The survey, conducted among 900 respondents in the African American and Hispanic communities, focused on broadband access, adoption and affordability.

Consistent with findings often referenced in the Pew Internet & American Life Project , Belcher’s study shows that cost and access are not the primary barriers – if barriers at all – to consumers in the African American and Hispanic communities choosing whether or not they adopt high-speed Internet service. Instead, once again we see the term “relevance” enter the equation, meaning there are people who are not making the connection between the Internet and an enhanced quality of life. Access to health care, education resources, the ability to stay connected with family, and entertainment are just a few of the things brought to us over broadband. In short, some in the African American and Hispanic communities – and beyond – still don’t see the Internet as a “game-changer.”

Navarrow Wright, President of Maximum Leverage Solutions, has become a leading voice on these and other broadband and technology issues. Wright attributes his professional success to not only embracing the Internet, but his ability and desire to understand and use it as a platform where he could showcase his talents. Wright, who recently called into question the need for a debate on Net neutrality, said that the government’s broadband policy needs to focus primarily on helping people understand the real value that the Internet has to their lives. Be sure to check out our interview with Navarro below.

These were themes echoed by other panelists, including Sylvia Aguilera, Executive Director of the Hispanic Technology and Telecommunications Partnership. Ms. Aguilera said specifically that broadband policy needs to focus on closing the digital divide, bringing employment opportunities to minority communities and tying broadband deployment to aggressive adoption programs.

The conversation then turned to the noise around the current Net neutrality debate, which has been amplified via the FCC’s open Internet proceeding. The panelists seemed frustrated at the attention Net neutrality is getting – as well as the resources and time being dedicated to that debate which they feel would be better-suited on more pressing issues, like educating consumers on the importance and relevance of high-speed Internet.

Wright said there are no concrete reasons the Net neutrality supporters can point too that justify placing new regulations on the Internet. Further, he asked how the government could create rules for everyone on the Internet when we still have so much work to do to get more people online. Ms. Aguilera picked up on that point saying that Net neutrality will not help close the digital divide. She said the time being spent on discussing the Net neutrality issue is taking away from collaborating on more pressing broadband issues facing the Hispanic community.

In a very healthy, candid discussion on challenges minority communities face when it comes to adopting broadband, one thing was clear – Net neutrality isn’t the answer. And worse, it detracts from a more pressing dialogue that needs to focus on the education of those who are not embracing the many promises that come with having a high-speed Internet connection.

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Click below to watch full archived footage.

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I recently had the opportunity to hear technology policy expert Timothy B. Lee on a panel discussing the best way to preserve the open and diverse Internet that we currently enjoy.  Lee offered an important perspective to the dialogue, arguing that regulation is not necessary since technical countermeasures and slowed innovations are adequate deterrents to network discrimination.   I caught up with Lee for an interview to get more information on his position.  Stay tuned for that (working on transcription)!

In our conversation, Lee, a PhD student in computer science and an affiliate of the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University, shares what he sees as the “technical reality” that is not being reflected in today’s policy discussion.  He believes in the concept of the “durable Internet,” one that he fully explores in his Cato Institute study, “The Durable Internet: Preserving Network Neutrality without Regulation.”  The premise is that the Internet is fundamentally fragile and regulating during its evolution could hamper innovation, especially where there are economic and technical solutions.

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Mark A. Jamison, Director of the Unviersity of Florida’s Public Utility Research Center, and Janice Hauge, Associate Professor of the Department of Economics at the University of North Texas collaborated on an opinion piece in today’s South Florida Times to paint the picture of a one-dimensional network. They point out the harm to innovation and consumers that such regulations could in fact create.

The authors use the highway analogy, pointing out how much value today’s transportation system would offer without options like high occupancy vehicle lanes, car-only lanes, and toll road alternatives.  It’s these types of competitive choices that drive innovation and confer increased options for consumers, on roads and online:

“Today’s successful Internet sites face greater competition if we move beyond net neutrality principles. That probably explains why they are net neutrality’s strongest advocates. But moving beyond a dumb network is better for customers, sites that find new opportunities and networks.

It should be no surprise that dumb isn’t better. In an innovation-driven economy, restrictions don’t make us better. They hold us back.”

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A recent study performed by the American Consumer Institute outlined how network companies employ twice as many employees and invest twice as much, dollar for dollar, compared to non-network (edge) IT companies.  Click here for NextGenWeb’s coverage around the ACI study.

Gary Kim, Contributing Editor at TMCnet.com, has chimed in on this vantage point of the Net neutrality debate.  As was detailed in his recent article on TMC.net, there is a significant gap in the number of people employed between opponents and proponents of increased Internet regulation:

“If one adds up all the employees working at firms that have filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that opposed ‘network neutrality,’ compared to the number of employees of firms that say they favor such rules, you would find that firms opposed to net neutrality directly employ 1,440,021 workers while supporters directly employ 148,936 workers.”

These numbers demonstrate that investments by network providers are a very significant factor in the Internet ecosystem. Investments underpin jobs and the policies in place over the last few years have helped stimulate major network investments, factors that should be considered in the current policy debate.

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The FCC’s open Internet proceeding has spawned much conversation – and debate – over whether or not new regulations are required for the Internet of tomorrow. The Internet of tomorrow – just stop and think about what that means for a moment. While there are no doubt a handful of smart people out there who ten years ago may have envisioned the Internet of today, we feel safe in saying that the dynamic platforms that have exploded onto the scene these past few years weren’t on the radars of many. From YouTube to Twitter to rapid growth in eHealth and online commerce, the Internet has been a beacon of light in a rather stormy economy.

It’s hard to imagine whether these and countless other innovations would have manifested themselves on an Internet stifled with regulation. But what good is hindsight. Looking down the road, we have to ask what will our open Internet look like should the FCC issue rules that many fear (see below) will put a stranglehold on a thriving Internet and broadband marketplace. But you know where we stand – so you shouldn’t just take it from us. You should read the public comments filed during the FCC’s Net neutrality NPRM proceeding.

We’re talking civil rights groups, consumers and diverse advocacy organizations, high-tech companies, Internet experts and free-market thinkers. Many diverse viewpoints that have nonetheless found common ground on this issue and have cautioned the FCC to think about whether or not added regulations to an open Internet is the right policy move for the Internet of the future.

In addition, we caught up with Harry Alford, President of the National Black Chamber of Commerce and Justin Nelson from the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to make sure they had a platform here on NextGenWeb to be heard. In these interviews you will hear important leaders from the minority community talk about the importance of a National Broadband Plan, and why Net neutrality is a step in the wrong direction when it comes to ensuring the rapid adoption of high-speed Internet by those Americans who are missing out on the promise.

It’s a critical time – and we want these voices to be heard.

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President Obama is facing a number of serious challenges as his second year in office gets underway. A struggling economy, job losses, a growing number of foreclosures … the list goes on. As he often does, the president took to the Internet as a means to converse with the American people on these important topics. Less than a week after his State of the Union, he gave a live interview on YouTube.

The first question caught the attention of former Clinton Administration economist, Ev Ehrlich, a good friend to NextGenWeb.

Find out here.

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The Free State Foundation held their Annual Winter Telecom Policy Conference last Friday, drawing in a packed crowd to hear experts and leaders from the FCC discuss issues like investment, net neutrality, and the national broadband plan.   The morning kicked off with a keynote address from FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell, who says the FCC must “first, do no harm,” also believes that if the FCCC were to adopt stringent Net neutrality regulations, the question of the agency’s legal ability to do so would likely go to court. You can read the full text of McDowell’s speech here.

Speaking on behalf of the FCC, Paul de Sa, Chief of the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Analysis, offered his insider view of the FCC’s soon-to-be-released Broadband Plan.  de Sa reminded the audience and fellow panelists that what’s not in the strategic plan is as important as what’s in it.  “The point of the plan is to figure out what our focus should be,” he said.

The panel on Net neutrality was, of course, the most impassioned. There is core agreement that the Internet is a unique ecosystem and that we want to promote innovation, and even transparency.  However, there is an outstanding question of whether there is even a problem to be solved by regulation and if so, who has the authority and oversight to do so?  Verizon’s Tom Tauke says solution is in industry self-governance, suggesting the processes at the FCC are too slow for the rapid pace of the Internet.  Similarly, Rob Atkinson of ITIF believes that we should be especially cautious in about potential harms of regulation on our thriving Internet ecosystem and innovation.

Professor Christopher Yoo brought a new dynamic to the Net neutrality dialogue, beginning with a discussion of how the current architecture of the Internet is fundamentally inefficient.  “The Internet was designed for point-to-point connection,” he said, noting that we now have needs like security, mobility, interactive media, cloud computing, and more.  With that, he urges that without even consensus among technical experts and the engineering community about how the Internet should run, we should refrain from imposing regulations.

Watch the video below or click here for more of Prof. Christopher Yoo’s views on Net neutrality.

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Today, policymakers, their staff, industry groups, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders are gathering for the 6th Annual State of the Net conference, presented by the Congressional Internet Caucus. However, many also gathered yesterday for the pre-conference and technology expo. The pre-conference focused on two very important technology policy issues, broadband adoption and net neutrality, following introductory remarks by FCC Commissioners Copps & Baker.

Panelists discussed the biggest challenges to broadband adoption along with proposed solutions to address them. Many expressed concern for minorities, seniors, and those with disabilities but are hopeful that with better social policies that empower individuals, we can help those with access to broadband choose to adopt. When asked what she would recommend that the FCC include in the National Broadband Plan, Nicol Turner-Lee of the Joint CenterJoint Center Media & Technology Institute urged for paying attention to low hanging fruit (like repurposing existing service initiatives towards technology) and accelerating adoption overall.

The second panel was on the topic of network neutrality and did not draw quite as much consensus among the speakers. Hal Singer of Empiris LLC argued strongly against regulation since we have not met economic standard for government intervention. More from Singer is available in the video interview below. Professor Christopher Yoo mentioned several new approaches to networking that are being explored by engineers and believes that we should not jump towards regulation in the face of ambiguity so that we don’t lose possibilities of experimentation.

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