Michael's Insight

Just as I thought...give 'em as much as they use!

I mentioned yesterday that I was suspicious of Robb Topolski's definition of acceptable network management practices.  Well, just as I suspected, Robb justified my concern right here in a comment to my post yesterday.

Yes, I approve of Network Management – the old fashioned kind – the kind that says you stay ahead of demand by upgrading your networks on time and you don’t oversell your bandwidth beyond all reasonableness. 

Willner's epic distortions? Hardly the case.

In a recent post, I mentioned to you that I was in Washington last week.  Little did I know that my efforts would cause a Defcon 5 call-to-action by the P2P Defense League.

I met with officials at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to discuss the issue of network management.  One aspect of that discussion included the impact today's peer-to-peer applications have on network resources. After reading the ex parte letter that was filed by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) on my behalf, Karl at Broadband Reports took issue with some of the comments I made during those meetings.

If you want to read the whole thing, you can download a copy of the ex parte letter.

You can read for yourself what Karl wrote in its entirety but first, here's a longish summary of what NCTA reported that I said...

The truth about net neutrality and the big money behind it

Finally, a truthful article was published on Wednesday about the little known fact of who really invented the debate about net neutrality.  When you finish here, click on it -- it's a must read.  The story was published in a most unlikely place too - The San Francisco Enquirer - the big hometown newspaper serving the Silicon Valley.  And guess who they identify as the inventor of this hot political debate...

Initially, network neutrality was the demand that network carriers ignore the Internet's fundamental inequality. Google had good reason to advocate this, because it is advantaged by a status quo in which money buys privilege. Any move by carriers to selectively boost speeds for fees dulls the advantage Google has secured for itself by building huge complexes of hundreds of thousands of computers.

There you have it.  Net neutrality, and all the puff about fairness, equality and openness is all about "money buy[ing] privilege."  And this time, I didn't say it, Google's own hometown paper did.

Wednesday article links

It appears that quite a few of you enjoyed the variety of subjects in yesterday's links, so I'm going to continue to post these short subject links to other articles.  I will continue to write the longer form pieces that delve more deeply into a given subject and is reflective of my own point view.  The links are simply articles of interest, whether or not I agree with their point of view.

Today's links are focused primarily on public policy issues - there's a hearing on Capitol Hill today regarding behavior-based web advertising and FastCompany.tv has posted an video interview with Kyle McSlarrow, CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.

Enjoy.

Bad news for consumers as a-la-carte lawsuit proceeds

A federal lawsuit challenging cable operators and programmers on the issue of a-la-carte programming has managed to rise from the dead, as a Los Angeles-based federal judge has is allowing the case to proceed after originally dismissing it. Multichannel News recently reported that District Judge Christina Snyder ruled late last month that the case would move forward.

Snyder had originally dismissed the plaintiffs case against several cable operators and programmers in March, but later reinstated it after they amended their claims.

Judge Christina Snyder, in a June 25 ruling, decided that the cable operators, direct-broadcast satellite companies and studios that were sued had not proved their arguments. Those companies alleged that the lawsuit, filed on antitrust grounds, did not adequately demonstrate that consumers were injured by the business practices of the defendants. In written and oral arguments on June 16, they also questioned the standing of the consumers to sue.

Here we go again -- more advocates for government regulation of the Internet

I came across the public policy group, Internet for Everyone which is advocating a government solution to the "problem" of America's broadband deployment.  Here's what they say is their primary mission.

InternetforEveryone.org initiative calls on Congress and the president to act in the public interest by enacting a plan for the wired and wireless Internet...

The buzz words here are, "enacting a plan."  That's code for more government regulation. 

The digital transition, as clear as it gets

I sat down with WHAS TV reporter Andy Treinen on Wednesday to talk about the digital television transition that will be happening next year on February 17th.

Andy put together an excellent story that helped to clarify what consumers need to know to successfully transition from the current analog television transmission to digital. His story also mentioned Insight's transition of HBO, HBO2 and Showtime.

Blogosphere Enjoys the Battle of the Policy Wonks

Lots of coverage about the Tauke / McSlarrow debate last week.

Let's understand exactly what happened here.  Briefly, the FCC found that Verizon was violating a critical provision in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 that prohibited phone companies from using their 100-year-old monopoly power to stifle competition in the long run.

How could Verizon do that? 

Attention all blog readers! You must see this!!

I think this may be a first in the Blogosphere.  It's a front row seat to a debate between two top level telecommunications policy leaders. It was so good and so timely, I couldn't wait until Monday.

In this corner (wearing the white hat) ;-) is Kyle McSlarrow, President and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association.  And in that corner (wearing the black hat) is Tom Tauke, Executive Vice President - Public Affairs, Policy and Communications for Verizon. 

I posted a link to the debate below but first, a brief explanation. 

Leaders in Learning Awards and then on to our first Insight DTV forum in LaGrange, KY

Short post today as I am traveling to Washington for Cable in the Classroom's Leaders in Learning Awards Gala.  I get to present one of the awards to one of our very own customers, Diane Downs of the Louisville Leopard Percussionists, a music education and community-building program that seeks to educate 7-to12-year-olds.  Congratulations Diane!  I'll see you in DC!

Then, it's on to Louisville for our first Digital Transition Forum for our customers in LaGrange, KY.  It will be held on Thursday night.

Confessions of a Network Manager (Part 2)

I promised more on Network Management following my Part 1 post a few weeks ago.  Today, I'd like to discuss downstream management.

Why Do We Have to Manage Downstream Usage?

We, at Insight, go to great lengths to handle network management fairly.  We recognize that the Internet is a shared network, and that all network managers, ISP's and backbone providers alike, first should provision responsibly and then make sure their networks don't get clogged up. 

A New ISP Business Model

Argo recently asked,

(Why shouldn't) a cable company offer a platform to other media outfits and charge them for maintenance and overhead rather pass that cost to customers."

Great question! 

Let's look at one example of a new business model. 

Netflix recently announced a set-top box to deliver movies directly to a set-top box via the Inernet. It's a very exciting idea that adds great value to their service and they will save a ton of money in postage, a good thing for them. 

Their plan will use an enormous amount of Internet bandwidth which can cause additional congestion along the way.  To prevent this from happening, ISP's and Internet backbone suppliers provision for increases in usage. 

One blogger reacts to my a-la-carte post

Confessions of a Network Manager (Part 1)

Okay, I confess.  It's true.  I'm a network manager.  I manage networks.  Not directly, but I approve policies that authorize our technical people to do just that.  I can't help myself.  There, I said it.

What is network management?

Simply put, network management is a series of rules that network managers put in place to ensure the smooth operation of their networks, thus maximizing customers' experiences.  I'm not sure why, but network management has become a debate. 

Why do we do this?

Cable a Monopoly? Don't Make Me Laugh!

This is a story about a few dozen people who wake up in the morning and get ready to go to work, just like everyone else.  Specifically,these folks are responsible for the products and services that their company provides to its customers.  They work for Insight Communications.

Before they get to their desks, they've already checked out what's going on in their world.  How much of an installation discount is Dish offering?  Is DSL increasing their maximum speeds?  What kind of response is AT&T having to our unlimited long distance, feature-rich phone service?

Cable A-La-Carte - A Great Idea, or Is It?

I know it sounds like a great idea to offer all the cable networks individually and to allow consumers to pick and choose the ones they want. 

But is it really? 

I have no doubt that consumers will suffer if cable operators, by law, had to offer their channels a-la-carte.  It sounds good at first but, when consumers face the reality of their new choices, they will discover that they are facing the prospect of having to choose far fewer channels than they have today or pay much, much more for them.

Why? 

Cable providers invest in wireless broadband network

The New York Times reports this morning that a consortium of Sprint Nextel, Google, Intel, Comcast, Time Warner, Bright House and Clearwire are set to announce today a $12 billion deal to build the nation's first wireless 4G network. The proposed wireless network speeds would be comparable to current home broadband speeds.

House of Representatives hearing on net neutrality

The U.S. House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet is holding a hearing today on a bill that would regulate certain aspects of net neutrality.

I believe deeply in the principle of free access to all legal Internet destinations. What I want to make sure of is that we don't confuse net neutrality with