The United Nations may not be trying to take over the internet,
but its telecom arm is discussing proposals that could seriously
threaten the openness of the network, according to people like
Vint Cerf — and could also change the way we pay for it.  It’s
rare that ordinary internet users need to care about what goes
on at the United Nations, but this is definitely one of those
times, if only because the UN’s telecom arm is currently holding
hearings in Dubai that could change the way the global network
functions in some important ways. Although fears of what some
have described as a UN “takeover” of the internet are over-
blown, some of the proposals the telecom committee will be
considering could have ramifications for the way we use the
internet, and perhaps more importantly how we pay for it. They
are serious enough that Net veterans like Vint Cerf, one of the
“fathers of the internet,” are warning of the dangers if these
proposals are actually adopted.  As we described in a post
earlier this year, the cont