Advocates on both sides of the net neutrality debate descended on Harvard Law School Monday for a U.S. Federal Communications Commission hearing that multiple speakers suggested was crucial to the Internet's future.

Members of the FCC, along with industry representatives, legal scholars and pro-neutrality advocates spoke at the hearing, which drew an overflow crowd.

"The Internet is as much mine and yours as it is AT&T's and Comcast's," said U.S. Representative Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts.

Markey has filed a bill along with U.S. Representative Charles Pickering, a Republican from Mississippi, in support of net neutrality, the idea that network providers shouldn't discriminate against Web sites or various types of traffic. The FCC is investigating complaints that Comcast has interfered with P-to-P (peer-to-peer) traffic associated with file-sharing sites.

"Network operators are making choices right now that will determine how Americans communicate, now and in the future," said FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps. "I am not saying that any or all of these practices are unlawful. I am saying that choices like these, when you add them all together, are going to determine what kind of Internet we have in the future."

Other FCC members echoed Copps.

"Respect for the free flow of information was bred into our country from its founding," said Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein. "We must preserve the open and neutral character of the Internet, which has been its hallmark from the very beginning. It is clear consumers don't want the Internet to be a another version of old media dominated by a number of giants.

Gilles BianRosa, CEO of Vuze, a video service that uses P-to-P technology, said that while his company competes with Comcast in the delivery of content, the latter company holds an unfair advantage. "What we have here is a horse race, and Comcast owns the racetrack. I agree the market should decide which services win ... but there is no market without basic ground rules and transparency. ... We believe corporate assurances of good faith are not enough."

Marvin Ammori, chief counsel for Free Press, an advocacy group backing the net neutrality effort, also described Monday's discussion in sweeping terms.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

Whitepapers

• Best Practices for HP Servers and HP Enterprise Virtual Array in a Microsoft Exchange
• Network-Wide Change Management Visibility with Route Analytics
• REMOTE CONTROL: How to Reduce the Cost, Complexity and Risk of Managing Your Distributed IT Infrastructure
• Steal This Script: Hands-On Tips for Service Impact Network Management
• The Case for an Untethered Enterprise
• Best Practices for WAN Optimization with Data Replication

View more LANS & WANS whitepapers

Webcasts

• WAN Optimization Editorial Webcast
• Best Practices for Deploying WAN Optimization for Disaster Recovery
• Tips and Techniques for Remote Data Backup and Delivery
• WAN Optimization Landscape
• High Availability for SQL Server 2005 Using Array-Based Replication and Host-Based Mirroring Technologies
• Technical Overview of Exchange Server 2007 with HP Servers and Storage

View more LANS & WANS webcasts

Special Reports

• Network World Executive GUide: The Virtualization Equation
• Get More From Your WAN
• Learn how to Keep your Mobile Workforce Connected
• WAN Optimization: How to rev up sluggish applications
• The Wireless Explosion
• Network World Executive Guide: Perfecting Application Performance Management

View more LANS & WANS special reports