Sunday, May 07, 2006

I Guess Money Really Does Talk.....

Reuters is reporting that the Big U.S. Financial Sector is getting into the fight for Net Neutrality. Surprisingly, their on Net Neutralities side. Clip from the article:

For the financial services sector, which is expected to spend $117 billion on information technology this year, tiered pricing could add billions more in expenses to maintain online banking services and other Web offerings -- costs that could hit the bottom line or be passed on to customers.

But it's a fight the financial sector almost missed.

"Net neutrality is an issue that (financial services) firms ignore at their peril," Philip Corwin, a partner at Washington law firm Butera & Andrews, wrote in a memo circulating among financial services lobbyists.

"If the industry does not engage quickly, it may find that the matter has been decided without its input and that the fallout will affect the industry's cost structure and customer relations for years to come," he added.



I have always said that Net Neutrality is beneficial for all of us, so this does not come as a surprise to me. The fact that the financial industry is just starting to take notice is what really bothers me. It confirms my suspicions that does in other industries do not see the huge externality that throwing away the Net Neutrality principals will bring to their companies. There's also one quote from the article coming from a AT&T PR person that just baffles me. Money quote:



But AT&T said those efforts would hurt consumers and action by Congress could deter investment in new advanced networks.

"If anything is going to halt necessary investments in next generation networks it will be Congress dictating business models to companies," said Claudia Jones, AT&T spokeswoman.

"The finance community should be wary of wolves in sheep's clothing who are attempting to codify the status quo to their own benefit and to the detriment of consumers everywhere," she said.



Could deter investment? HOW?!?! We have been in a state of Network Neutrality since the conception of the internet, and now keeping those principals would suddenly halt necessary investments to create a better network? And it's interesting that you mention business models, because the current one you have seems to be doing you just fine! And I'm pretty sure that $200 billion in tax payer money could have helped you build a better network. As for the last quote, I find that one the most hilarious. Be wary of wolves? YOU ARE THE WOLVES!!

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