FCC Hearing at Stanford today: Should your ISP be allowed to throttle Skype?
United States regulators will hear from witnesses and the public about "Broadband Network Management Practices" Thursday afternoon in Palo Alto, California. They'll stream the hearing starting at noon Pacific Time.
Comcast, 
famous for killing p2p traffic to avoid bandwidth investment, turned down an invitation from the FCC to speak.
Some great speakers (Lessig, Topolski, Ou, Krikorian, Scott), but there's also a two hour public comment period starting around 4pm.
Skype users depend on the kindness of ISPs. What rights should you have regarding your ISP?
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Should they be held liable for blocked emergency calls?
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Do they have the right to slow down some speech over the Internet and not others, based on the content of that speech?
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May they degrade Skype calls to make their own VoIP products look better?
FCC news release below the fold.
For Immediate Release: News Media Contacts:
April 16, 2008 Clyde Ensslin at 202-418-0506
Robert Kenny at 202-418-2668
FCC Announces Agenda and Witnesses for Public En Banc Hearing at Stanford University on Broadband Network Management Practices
The Federal Communications Commission today announced further details of its previously announced public en banc hearing at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. (See announcement dated April 11, 2008).
As previously announced, the hearing date, time, and location are as follows:
Date: Thursday, April 17, 2008
Time: 12:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Location: Dinkelspiel Auditorium, 471 Lagunita Drive, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
Directions: http://campus-map.stanford.edu/index.cfm?ID=02-200
http://music.stanford.edu/Events/directions.html
The Commission will hear from expert panelists regarding broadband network management practices and Internet-related issues. The hearing scheduled at Stanford University is the second such hearing to be held by the FCC and follows a similar hearing held at Harvard Law School last in February (for more information: http://www.fcc.gov/headlines.html - go to February 25, 2008 headline: ‘FCC En Banc Hearing on Broadband Network Management Practices, Cambridge, Massachusetts’).
The hearing at Stanford University is open to the public, and seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Agenda and list of witnesses follows:
(All Pacific Time)
12:00 p.m. Welcome/Opening Remarks
12:45 p.m. Panel Discussion 1 – Network Management and Consumer Expectations
Introduction: Lawrence Lessig, C. Wendell and Edith M. Carlsmith Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Rick Carnes, President, Songwriters Guild of America
Michele Combs, Christian Coalition of America
George Ou, Independent Consultant and Former Network Engineer
Jon Peha, Associate Director of the Center for Wireless and Broadband Networking; Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University
Jean Prewitt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Independent Film & Television Alliance
James P. Steyer, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Common Sense Media
Robb Topolski, Software Quality Engineer
2:15 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m. Panel Discussion 2 – Consumer Access to Emerging Internet Technologies and Applications
Introduction: Barbara van Schewick, Assistant Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Jason Devitt, Chief Executive Officer, SkyDeck
Harold Feld, Senior Vice President, Media Access Project
George S. Ford, Chief Economist Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies
Brett Glass, Chief Executive Officer, Lariat.net
Blake Krikorian, Chief Executive Officer, Sling Media
Jon Peterson, Co-Director, Real-Time Applications and Infrastructure (RAI), Internet Engineering Task Force
Gregory L. Rosston, Deputy Director, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
Ben Scott, Policy Director, Free Press
4:30 p.m. Public Comment Period
6:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
7:00 p.m. Adjournment
A live audio cast of the hearing will be available to the public on the FCC’s website at: http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/ -- you may also go to “FCC Meetings” from the homepage and then click on FCC Audio/Video events to access the audio cast.
The public may file comments or other documents with the Commission and should reference docket numbers 07-52 and 08-7 when filing by paper or submit your filing electronically by going to http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi and enter proceeding numbers 07-52 and 08-7. Electronic filers need to complete cover forms separately for each docket because the system accepts only one docket number per filing. Filing instructions are provided at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/.
Sign language interpreters and open captioning will be provided for this event. Other reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. Include a description of the accommodation needed, and include a way we can contact you if we need more information. Please make your request as early as possible. Last minute requests will be accepted, but may be impossible to fill. You may send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (Voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY).
For additional information about the hearing, please visit the FCC’s website at http://www.fcc.gov. Press inquiries should be directed to Robert Kenny at 202-418-2668 or Clyde Ensslin at 202-418-0506.
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