The other side: Net neutrality compromise skewered

A potential net neutrality compromise between service providers and the FCC is being skewered by the free Internet community which sees any deal between the two sides as political and, at least to the most pessimistic, inevitable.

"Everyone should have seen this coming," the blog TechDirt said. "Network Fight for network neutrality and understanding how the political process works are two different things--and it's been obvious for years that any attempt to enshrine net neutrality in the law would almost certainly be twisted by telco lobbyists."

Multiple reports have suggested that the two sides--service providers and federal officials--have been meeting behind closed doors in an effort to develop a solution that would be palatable to all and, more importantly, let the FCC save face and perhaps get some oversight on the broadband Internet. The FCC, for its part, said there was nothing improper about the meetings, which were fully disclosed.

Still, Gigi Sohn, president of Washington-based advocacy group Public Knowledge told Bloomberg BusinessWeek, "these kinds of meetings where the substance isn't being realized go against the chairman's (Julius Genachowski) promise of an open, transparent and inclusive agency."

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