Congressional Internet crusader Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., kicked off the summit this morning. He spoke about universal service reform, updating the federal patent system and the hotly debated "net neutrality" controversy. You can read all about the first two issues in our P.M. edition later today.
He had some interesting, albeit brief, thoughts on the proposed mandate for equal treatment of high-speed Internet content. Boucher said he wants to ensure that the Web remains open but also "doesn’t want to do anything in terms of a legislative remedy that has the effect of hobbling innovation inside the network."
Boucher fears that without net neutrality legislation, start-up Internet companies "may not be able to pay fast-lane fees" that he said broadband network providers may impose in the future. Stuck in the slow lane, the fledgling firms "won't become the next Yahoo or the next Google."
Until net neutrality is resolved, "every positive agenda item the broadband providers bring to Congress is going to be similarly blocked," the Congressional Internet Caucus co-chair warned. Those companies have not been lobbying on Capitol Hill so far this year, he said. For issues like video franchise reform, they are focusing on state-based changes -- "a longer, more tedious process," he quipped.
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