Sen Wyden to FCC: time for black-and-white Network Neutrality rules

"Continued growth of the 'Net right now is being hampered by the lack of clear enforceable standards on net neutrality. I don't think the country can afford that," said Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) on Wednesday. "We've got to make sure that the 'Net is protected from the ever present impulse of companies that would like to take advantage of their position of the middleman to erect poles and barriers for their own benefits." But Wyden directed his ire less at the various telcos and ISPs associated with this controversy, and more at the government agency charged with resolving the issue. "I was disappointed that the Federal Communications Commission in its recent Notice of Inquiry about the country's broadband future did not once, not once, mention the concept of net neutrality," he declared. "You see the words 'universal service,' 'open networks,' 'competition,' 'affordability,' but there is kind of an elaborate dance around the central concept of net neutrality." He concludes: "I think it is time to step up and challenge the Federal Communications Commission to guarantee that the newest Web application that runs from a garage or dorm room has the same access to Internet users as Microsoft or Google. I think it is time to challenge the Federal Communications Commission to create black-and-white rules ensuring that Internet service providers are gateways to the whole net and not gatekeepers where they get to pick the winners and losers."