For the past four years, I have been the unofficial president of the pro-net neutrality debate club. During that time, I've probably participated in a dozen one-on-one net neutrality debates, and probably two dozen (or more) panel debates. I've lost count.
The debates had really gotten a bit stale until late October, when the FCC published its proposed rules to ensure an open Internet. So a new round of debates has already kicked off. Last Thursday, at the Practicing Law Institute's 27th Annual Telecommunications Policy & Regulation Institute, I debated (for at least the 6th time), the president of the anti-net neutrality debate club, Precursor LLC President Scott Cleland. Tomorrow I'm debating Chris Guttman-McCabe, VP for Regulatory Affairs at CTIA-the Wireless Association, which as its name suggests, is the trade group for the wireless industry – everyone from AT&T and Verizon to T-Mobile and Sprint, to Leap and Cellular South. What is interesting about the wireless industry is that there is no consensus on net neutrality rules – Cell South openly supports it, while Leap, Sprint and T-Mobile have so far taken no position. And of course, AT&T and Verizon, which control 65% of the wireless market (and also have landline businesses), oppose net neutrality rules.
The debate will be moderated by Marguerite Reardon of CNET, and it will be at the National Press Club here in Washington, DC. There are still a few seats available (please email pk@publicknowledge.org if you are interested). If you want to send Chris or me a question, you can send it via Twitter (@ctiaamy) or email (astorey@ctia.org).