<html>
<head>
<meta content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" http-equiv="Content-Type">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<br>
<font face="Verdana">Very true, David, the world is going towards a
networked digital architecture, and it is difficult to separate
the standalone (which was formerly the computing space) from the
connecters (the former telecom space) . <br>
<br>
Also you have rightly connected net neutrality - a core regulatory
issue - with FoE, a connection most civil society advocated round
WCIT and otherwise seem to entirely miss or willingly bypass...
parminder <br>
<br>
<br>
</font>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On Friday 07 December 2012 08:57 AM,
David Allen wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote
cite="mid:96C94F58-DC3D-4B8C-8797-6BD6BAE7AAB7@post.harvard.edu"
type="cite">This would almost be amusing - if so much were not at
stake.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Those who remember the long history of policy debate, leading
up finally to divestiture of AT&T, know that there were a
series of so-called Computer Inquiries, official inquiries (in
the US of course). They revolved around trying to divine a
dividing line, between telecommunications and computing. This
proved to be a Gordian knot, which could not be untied. But the
argument went forward, seemingly endlessly, for many years
actually, with much foolish policy mooted, in an effort to
separate the two, computers and networks.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>As one of the sages of the era told me (when interviewed for
an intellectual history), the mess will be straightened out only
when we correct the mistake, that is, our attempt to separate
the two.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>George Santayana can be heard once again from the grave, it
seems, with his: "Those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it." If each generation has to learn all
over again, instead of building from the hard-won lessons
already travelled ...</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>Notably - even a bit ironically - there, in those Computer
Inquiries, as here in the Dubai struggle, the core issue was /
is (if by different names): What we then called the common
carrier obligation - the telecoms carrier was not allowed to
interfere with or change in any way the messages being carried.
What today we tussle over with the rubric network neutrality.
And what might be generalized to: freedom of expression.</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>David</div>
<div><br>
<div>
<div>On Dec 6, 2012, at 4:22 PM, Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro
wrote:</div>
<br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
<blockquote type="cite">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>
<div style="font-weight:bold;font-size:15px;margin:0px
0px 0.3em;padding:0px"><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/rm/2012/201637.htm"
style="color:rgb(17,85,204)" target="_blank">Economic,
Energy, Agricultural and Trade Issues: Development
and Progress of the World Conference on
International Telecommunications Currently Being
Held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Until December
14, 2012</a></div>
<div style="font-size:12px;margin:0px 0px
0.3em;padding:0px;color:rgb(102,102,102);font-style:italic">12/06/2012
02:45 PM EST</div>
<br>
<div style="margin:0px 0px 0.3em;padding:0px">
<div
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">
<h2>Development and Progress of the World Conference
on International Telecommunications Currently
Being Held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Until
December 14, 2012</h2>
</div>
<br
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">
<span
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">Special
Briefing</span>
<div
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">
Terry Kramer<br>
Ambassador U.S. Head of Delegation, World Conference
on International Telecommunications </div>
<div
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">
Via Teleconference<br>
</div>
<div
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">December
6, 2012</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>
<div style="margin:0px 0px 0.3em;padding:0px">
<hr
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif"></div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite">...<br>
</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div>
<div style="margin:0px 0px 0.3em;padding:0px">
<div style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-size: 13px;
font-family: arial, sans-serif; "><b>QUESTION:</b> ... I
understand the definition for telecommunications has
been set. This morning, in the conference that the –
in the media conference that the ITU holds, Director
Peprah from Ghana mentioned that that’s the case,
but ICT is still in the works – that is, the concept
of information communications technology is still in
the works, possibly as a defined term. Could you
comment on that?</div>
<div
style="color:rgb(34,34,34);font-size:13px;font-family:arial,sans-serif">
<p><b>AMBASSADOR KRAMER:</b> Yeah. We are still
working through a lot of different elements of how
this definition gets driven. Our view right now is
it does not belong in there. There may still be
people talking about ICT in different forms. And
certainly, in our own discussions, people are
talking about VoIP operators, Skype and others
that provide what they believe is telecomm
services. But we don’t feel those are appropriate.</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br>
</body>
</html>