Last month the Federal Communications Commission stopped a telecommunications provider from blocking VoIP phone calls to and from its broadband customers, citing it as unfair competition.

The Internet Caucus Advisory Committee hosted a panel discussion to probe whether this type of competitive blocking is an isolated incident or a sign of things to come. View the video.

EDUCAUSE submitted a one-page brief, citing the dangers blocking IP traffic could have on the development of the Internet and chilling effect on innovation.

Educause states that: “When broadband providers succumb to the temptation to block Internet packets at the network layer in order to avoid competition at the application layer, this subverts the open, modularized structure of the Internet and undermines both the ability of [people] to communicate with one another and the ability of the educational community to perform its mission.”

via OLDaily