EDUCAUSE, ACUTA, and Internet2 Open Letter to FCC Chairman Genachowski

The Honorable Julius Genachowski
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Genachowski:

EDUCAUSE, Internet2, and ACUTA would like to express our strong support for your recent announcement that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will initiate a public proceeding on the question of net neutrality. As a community, we have been active participants in the national debate over this issue and remain strong advocates of net neutrality as a basic principle.

All of our organizations are actively involved in the policies and mechanics of running large private networks on and between our college and university campuses. But we also realize that higher education is increasingly dependent on an open public Internet to achieve our mission of education, research, and community outreach. As network owners and operators we understand the complexities of this issue and welcome the opportunity to lend our expertise and support in the quest to find a reasonable and enforceable resolution.

Our members include institutions that are at the cutting edge of research and innovation in almost every field of endeavor from literature to physics to medicine. The principle of openness that has existed on the public Internet has allowed unprecedented access to information, collaboration, and experimentation. We feel it is possible to protect this principle while also generating the investment needed to take the Internet to the next level of operability.

We thank you for initiating this proceeding and look forward to working with you on this important national issue.

Respectfully submitted,

About EDUCAUSE

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The current membership comprises more than 2,100 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 250 corporations, with 16,500 active members. EDUCAUSE has offices in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C. Learn more at http://www.educause.edu

About ACUTA

ACUTA, the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education, is an international non-profit educational association serving colleges and universities. ACUTA represents over 1700 individuals at nearly 800 institutions of higher education with members ranging from small schools and community colleges to the 50 largest U.S. institutions representing diverse Carnegie classifications in all 50 states, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. For more information: http://www.acuta.org

About Internet2

Led by the research and education community since 1996, Internet2 promotes the missions of its members by providing both leading-edge network capabilities and unique partnership opportunities that together facilitate the development, deployment and use of revolutionary Internet technologies. Internet2 brings the U.S. research and academic community together with technology leaders from industry, government and the international community to undertake collaborative efforts that have a fundamental impact on tomorrow's Internet. For more information: http://www.internet2.edu

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