Retailing Net Neutrality

At the FTC Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy workshop, Barbara Tulipane, president and CEO of the Electronic Retailing Association, gave some good arguments for net neutrality:

Ms. Tulipane also stressed the importance of innovation for Internet content providers. As today's Internet is comprised of interconnected networks that do not distinguish service based on source or content, providers have been forced to innovate in order to meet consumers' changing shopping habits. However, prioritization based on source or content will result in a closed network, and will stifle the innovation of both large and small e-retailers. Ms. Tulipane continued, "What's interesting about the ERA membership is that the small players today may very well be a Google, or an eBay, tomorrow. Their model for success is their ability to innovate."

Google, eBay, EarthLink, Amazon, Discuss Net Neutrality, Washington, D.C. - (Website Hosting Directory) - February 20, 2007

She recommends treating video and TV as value added applications on top of a net neutral broadband service, if I understand the writeup correctly.

Who is the ERA?

Representing a more than $300 billion market, the Electronic Retailing Association is the trade association in the U.S. and internationally for major companies in the multi-channel electronic retail industry, which includes long- and short-form commercials, live shopping channels, the Internet and radio. ERA counts industry leaders like Guthy-Renker, HSN, QVC, ShopNBC, Match.com and eBay among its member companies.

Those seem like companies that have some interest in the state of the Internet.

-jsq