EDUCAUSE and Internet2 Commend Senator Wyden Bill to Protect an Open Internet and Net Neutrality

Bill Seeks to Safeguard Founding Internet Principles to Ensure Continued U.S. Innovation

Washington, D.C.—EDUCAUSE and Internet2 have praised Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) for his leading effort to safeguard the founding Internet principle of “net neutrality” in his recently introduced Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006. Wyden’s bill takes an informed approach to protecting the openness of the Internet which will ensure continued U.S. innovation and leadership in the global Internet economy and allow U.S. citizens the right to control their own Internet experiences as they see fit.

In a letter to Wyden, EDUCAUSE President Brian Hawkins and Internet2 President and CEO Doug Van Houweling said, “Higher education depends upon an open Internet to accomplish its mission of promoting educational opportunity for all Americans. The Internet has become the most valuable medium for distance learning, scientific research, telemedicine, and many other educational purposes. Broadband Internet service allows rural students to take music classes from the best symphony conductors, permits grammar school students to participate in virtual undersea expeditions, and permits doctors in remote locations to share X-rays and monitor their patients in real-time. But the Internet can only serve these goals if it remains open and available to all users, educators and innovators.”

Wyden’s bill makes certain that network operators do not act as gatekeepers by blocking, screening, or discriminating against certain kinds of Internet traffic or creating segregated Internet highways for their own preferred services. Internet2’s experience in deploying advanced networks that support high-end broadband services shows that keeping networks open, inexpensive, and simple is better than costly, complex, and closed, as many network operators are now proposing. This bill is an important step toward guaranteeing that the Internet will remain open and available to all Americans, keeping in step with similar laws adopted by the international community.

EDUCAUSE and Internet2 look forward to working with Senator Wyden and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle on this issue in the coming months.

Learn more about the importance of this issue to higher education and the public at the EDUCAUSE Net Neutrality resource site.

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 2,200 colleges, universities, and educational organizations, including 250 corporations, with 17,000 active members. Learn more about EDUCAUSE at www.educause.edu.

About Internet2

Led by more than 200 U.S. universities working with industry and government, Internet2 develops and deploys advanced network applications and technologies for research and higher education, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 recreates the partnerships among academia, industry, and government that helped foster today’s Internet in its infancy. For more information, visit www.internet2.edu.