‘Testimony presented to the Committee on Technology in Government, The Council of the City of New York, November 20, 2009 Oversight: Establishing Strong Network Neutrality Principles in Order to Protect the Intemet, Presented by Colleen Gibney ITAC My name is Colleen Gibney, and I am the Technology Practice project manager for ITAC, The ‘New York City Industrial & Technology Assistance Corporation. ITAC is an economic development organization with 21 years of helping NYC small businesses to grow and to create high-value jobs. ITAC is funded by New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) as the designated Regional Technology Development Center (RTDC) for the NYC Region. It is also a Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center under a nationwide National Institute of Standards and Technology Program. We are one of three centers in the State funded to assist small R&D firms to apply for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program funding from eleven Federal agencies. We also run sponsored programs for New York City companies, such as our City Council-funded MoveSmart/StayLean/GrowFast program, and our NYSERDA-funded NYC Energy Tech program to accelerate energy grid technology companies. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Couneil for your consistent and generous support of MoveSmart/StayLean/GrowFast. ITAC strongly supports the Committee’s efforts to formalize strong network neutrality principles. We work with a high number of innovative software technology start-ups in sectors including healthcare, homeland security, defense, education, smart grid management, andentertainment. Should net neutrality be overcome by a toll system with tiered Internet traffic, many of these start-ups would be unable to become competitive and to create the high-quality jobs we need in New York City. TTAC has also worked with advanced manufacturers for over twenty years in New York. Should a tiered system come into operation, these companies, who often operate on lean budgets, would find that they would need to pay more to maintain a basic web presence. A free and open Internet ‘will continue to allow these companies to build new web strategies—including manufacturing- on-demand—that will enable them to compete with larger players, both domestically and internationally. ‘Those large telecommunications and cable providers who would seck to end net neutrality have spent a great deal of money to have their concerns and their wish to expand their revenue models reflected in Washington. The small to mid-size technology and manufacturing companies with whom ITAC works do not generally have budgets for lobbyists—they are focused upon commercializing new innovations, competing in a relentless global marketplace, and hiring and retaining New York's best workers, We need to ensure that these companies get every chance to do this on a fast and open highway. Otherwise we stand to lose our best job opportunities at the side of the road.