Colored Air, Executive Electrons.

Good Fences Make Bad Broadband is what looks like a good paper on the ins and outs of Net Neutrality. Exec summary and lengthier version here.

Besides the necessary traffic shaping in last-mile/residential situations, the net is an apolitical point-to-point system as I understand it. And I barely understand it along with zillions of others, I'm sure.

But there is no "crisis" that pushes this rush to legislate one way or the other, except, of course, an imagined fee hydrant going untapped. As I see it, the Bells and others are hoping that they can perusade voters that they've selflessly invested in pipes and backbone and are only looking to be compensated. Naah. There's plenty of infrastructure subsidy and plain old taxpayer dollars that have bought this system. The Bells are late to the game and they've figured out how to play some catch-up with cute language and fianancial and marketing gymnastics. I played this game from the inside in the 90s with CLECs. As it stands now, this no differnet from Verizon suggesting that my cell is gonna work best with other Verizon users only--so I'd better hurry up and foist on my peer group a latter day MCI-like Friends and Family plan to assure "top quality service." Ditto for the early days of Bell's IQ/Caller ID services. Double ditto for ill-fated ATM fee rip-offs for out of network service--laziness and fast-buckism substituting for real ideas and service improvements. They're selling fresh air. Or the colored kind, made famous by the legendary Howard Gossage above.

It's ongoing, and I'm gonna start paying closer attention. Who knows, I may get to recycle some ads.