Background: Earlier today, a number of telecommunications companies announced the formation of a Technical Advisory Group to provide ‘guidance’ to the industry and public and to try to solve disputes regarding Internet networking practices. (If you missed it, details here.)
The following statement is attributed to Gigi B. Sohn, president and co-founder of Public Knowledge:
“We believe there is a role for advisory groups to consult on items of technical importance. Given that this advisory group is only just getting off the ground, we are cautiously optimistic that it may do some good.
“However, we note that we will watch closely as the group develops policies and processes, including figuring out who is eligible to join and the process by which issues are submitted and decided. We note that the group as constituted is currently dominated by the telecommunications industry.
“In addition, we emphasize that regardless of the degree of technical expertise of this private-sector group, it is not a substitute for Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and enforcement procedures and it certainly should not be interpreted as such by anyone.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.