"Net Neutrality" Faces Opposition

Federal regulators took an important step on October 22 toward prohibiting broadband providers from favoring or discriminating against certain kinds of Internet traffic.

Despite the concerns of the telecommunications industry giants and the agency's two Republicans, the Federal Communications Commission voted to begin writing so-called "network neutrality" regulations to prevent phone and cable companies from abusing their control over the market for broadband access.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said regulations are needed to ensure that broadband subscribers can access all legal Web sites and services, including Internet calling applications and video sites that compete with the core businesses of the broadband companies.

Declaring access to the Internet to be like “running water or a light bulb,” Genachowski declared recently that it should be regulated. Specifically, the plan is to codify four Bush-era principles for Internet firms, while adding two more. The first four principles state that consumers are “entitled” to run applications, connect to devices, and access content of their choice, as well as enjoy a choice of providers. Genachowski would add to these a ban on discriminating among any content or applications, and a mandate that service providers publicly reveal their network management practices.


Many feel these actions would ultimately play havoc with effort to manage congestion on the Internet. Last year, for example, Comcast’s efforts to deter bandwidth hogs on peer-to-peer networks from slowing their download rates was declared illegal by the FCC.

Verizon Chief Executive Officer Ivan Seidenberg blasted network neutrality regulations on October 21, stating any such regulations were "a mistake, pure and simple -- an analog idea in a digital universe."

Seidenberg argues that rules preventing broadband providers from discriminating against certain content types or sources – which have been proposed by the FCC and supported by Internet-centric companies such as Google and Facebook – would choke innovation and clash with the FCC’s drive to promote broadband deployment investment.

“If we can’t differentiate between packets, we can’t prioritize emergency communications for first responders, telesurgery or heart-monitor readings for digital medicine or videoconferencing over spam for telecommuters,” Seidenberg stated.

At Cory, we are watching all of this with great concern and scrutiny.

Tightening the leash on network managers - making it even more difficult to manage constantly growing network traffic - is an obvious determinant to business efficiency.

The net result — a slower and more congested Internet, with more frustration for business owners.

Even worse, investment in expanding the Internet will be chilled, as FCC control of network management makes investment less inviting. The amounts at stake are far from trivial - with tens of billions invested each year in Internet expansion.

With Democrats in charge in Washington, supporters of the "net neutrality" rules seem poised to finally push through requirements that high-speed Internet providers give equal treatment to all data flowing over their networks.

At its core, these rules are intended to guarantee that Internet users can go to any Web site and access any online service they want. Phone and cable companies would not, for instance, be able to block subscribers from using cheaper Internet calling services or accessing online video sites that compete with their core businesses.

Broadband providers, such as AT&T, Verizon and Comcast argue that after pouring billions of dollars into their networks, they should be able to operate those networks as they see fit - including offering premium services over their lines to differentiate themselves from competitors and earn a healthy return on their investments.

Cory’s clients can be assured that our team is watching developments of the "net neutrality" proposal closely and will continue to place the best interests of Cory clients at the forefront under any and all circumstances.

Please call us at 1-877-489-8186 or send an email to info@corycommunications.com with any views or concerns.

Cory Communications Supports Hopeworks of Camden This Holiday Season

Cory Communications proudly supports Hopeworks of Camden City and its great endeavors to inspire and enhance the lives of inner-city Camden youth by expanding learning opportunities.

This holiday season, in lieu of corporate gifts, Cory Communications is once again giving the gift of community caring by donating funds to Hopeworks of Camden in the name of its clients.

Hopeworks empowers youth to identify and develop their D.R.E.A.M.S. (Dynamic, Realizable Efforts to Attain and Maintain Success) and own their future.

Hopeworks does this by enhancing the lives of inner-city Camden youth by expanding the learning opportunities available to them, pointing the way to a future full of hope and working together to create that future.

The heart of the Hopeworks program is technology training - in­ a safe, respectful, and celebratory atmosphere. Hopeworks trains youth in state-of-the art computer applications: website design, geographic information services (GIS), computer networking and repair, and video.

"The mission of Hopeworks is invaluable for the formation and enrichment of Camden city youths," shares Jack Zoblin, founder of Cory Communications and a leading entrepreneur in South Jersey. "The technology training that Hopeworks provides to the youth of Camden City provides inspiration and opportunity for these young people to build a very positive future."

Each year, Cory Communications supports the great works of Hopeworks of Camden City. For more information about Hopeworks, visit www.hopeworks.org. For more information about Cory Communications, please call us at 1-877-489-8186 or send an email to info@corycommunications.com.

The Outlook On Cloud Computing

You may have heard the term cloud computing - more than a dozen times. Cloud computing is causing a big wave in the technology industry and getting a lot of exposure in the media, throughout the analyst community and more and more within Cory's client base.

What is cloud computing? The first thing you need to understand is that the "cloud" is just another word for the Internet. Quite simply, cloud computing is services and applications that are hosted on and accessed through the Internet.

Cloud computing is a pay-as-you-go approach, in which a low initial investment is required to get going, and additional investment is incurred as system use increases.
In this way, cash flows better match total system cost.

Cloud computing infrastructures are built, by and large, from open source components. In the old way of doing things, a large investment is made early in the project prior to system build out - and well before the business benefits are realized. Cloud providers are conservative in some respects, as they do not want to make large investments upfront without knowing the financial outcomes. Cloud providers host their services at World Class Security and Network Operation Centers which are staffed 24/7 and have multiple levels of redundancy on both the network side and the power grid. More and more companies are outsourcing some part of the network to the cloud and that number is expected to increase - significantly - over the next five years.

Now, here may come the uncomfortable fact about cloud computing.

The fundamental shift about cloud computing is that your data doesn't live in your servers anymore - the data lives in the cloud. To some who are accustomed to the traditional on premise data model, this concept can and most likely will seem terrifying.

So how do most organizations approach cloud computing? One little step at a time. Make that a double step. More and more, businesses are giving their data a double life - residing on in-house servers as well as in the "cloud" that, by all accounts, is getting bigger.

Keeping track of - and maintaining control of - your data when it's living a double life can be a big proposition. And that's where data integration fits into the picture. Most companies who are betting big on cloud computing are looking at ways to manage the flow of data back and forth between on-premise apps and cloud-based apps.

Cory Communications is watching the shift that cloud computing is bringing to the business community very closely. Please call us at 1-877-489-8186 or send an email to info@corycommunications.com with any views or concerns.