Telecos want to Monopolize the Net

As reported here the big telco oligopolies in the U.S. want to change the rules of the game to charge other oligopolies that own search enignes, Yahoo, Google, more and allow them free access to our accounts for bulk mass spamming. In the end we get screwed.

The tech reporter for the Washington Post has an interesting column on all this in todays paper. He says:

Charge E-Mailers, but Keep Pipeline Open

The second notion -- in which Internet service providers would charge Web sites for better delivery of their data -- may not be ridiculous per se, but it is a serious departure from the Internet's traditional openness. And it would be open to abuse without clear ground rules. But companies like Verizon and BellSouth won't answer some basic questions: Would they disclose which sites are paying these business-class fares? Would they let any site pay for better access, or only those they like?

They will gladly talk about how they want the flexibility to dream up new business models (as BellSouth and Verizon executives did during a panel discussion at a Capitol Hill conference on Wednesday). Fine. But as long as AT&T, Verizon and their ilk seem to be having so much trouble getting customers connected and keeping then contented, let's broaden this discussion of new economic models.

Here's one question to ponder: When an Internet service provider makes you wait weeks to get your DSL turned on, allows service to drop out for no apparent reason, then puts you on hold until an overworked tech-support rep dishes out incorrect advice, doesn't the customer deserve some compensation, as well?

And another article makes this point, which I made in my orginal article damn nice to have confirmation that I am not the only one concerned about this, AOL anti-spam scheme takes aim at wrong target TMCnet

That's the other dangerous incentive in the Goodmail system. AOL, Yahoo and Goodmail all make more money, the more their spam filters target "other" legitimate mailers who aren't yet signed up on Goodmail. There's a dangerous cash incentive here for them to cut out non-paying mass mailers. By instigating a private e-mail tax, AOL and Yahoo! have to punish not spammers, but those who seem to be evading their tax. Spammers aren't tax evaders, because they'll never pay anyway. Ordinary netizens who send out "mass" mails and could be "encouraged" to pay are, in other words, non-profits, individuals and communities who run mailing lists.

Commoditisation and the erosion of value-added ISPs like AOL into simple data conduits looms over all these companies. Spam they can live with. Lower prices and fewer people to charge they cannot.

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