Tuesday, Aug 12, 2008    Text size: 

Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Anna Eshoo D-Calif., wrote a letter to FCC Chairman Kevin Martin in support of the new porn-free Internet alternative.

"We agree with you that promoting universal broadband is an urgent national priority," they wrote. "However, we are concerned that incumbent wireless carriers are seeking unnecessary and unprecedented testing delays to prevent new innovative competitors from entering the market."

Martin had originally planned to auction off a new part of the broadband spectrum, provided that the winning bidder agrees to keep this new Internet free of adult entertainment.

Unfortunately for Martin, that letter is about the only support he's getting. Wireless companies oppose the idea because the new Internet might interfere with other services delivered over neighboring parts of the spectrum. Some Congressional republicans also oppose the idea, as do many free speech advocates.

The proposed rule itself, available in PDF format at the end of this article, would require that all content on this new Internet be acceptable to a five-year-old audience, and that anyone who wanted to access other content would have to opt into an "adult content" list that would most likely include mainstream websites like the news.

Leslie Harris, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, lambasted the proposed rule.

"It's not just the rights of the network's customers that would be trampled in this crazy scheme," said Harris, who spent two decades working as a civil liberties, technology and Internet lawyer. "The service provider charged with implementing this constitutionally suspect scheme would have to assemble a government mandated black list of content to be blocked, thus raising the specter of unconstitutional prior restraint."

Online guru Brandon "Fight the Patent" told XBIZ that although he likes the sound of a free Internet, the idea isn't without fault.

"Sure, it's a great idea to provide access to the Internet for those that can't afford it," he said. "Computers are getting cheaper every day. More families can afford one, and with this new plan, they wouldn't have to pay a monthly fee. Blocking porn isn't a big deal, but it would still be a challenge for network providers to block it, as website operators and surfers will surely fiind each other anyways."

One of the few supporters for the proposed idea includes M2Z Networks, which proposed a porn-free Internet alternative to the FCC in 2006. The FCC turned them down.

According to M2Z, a free, nationwide Internet alternative would save consumers between $18 billion and $32.4 billion per year.

The section of the spectrum to be auctioned is 2155-2180 Mhz.