Scott McNealy on Net Neutrality

Scott McNealy, ex-CEO of Sun Microsystems (SUNW) talking about Net Neutrality (term defined) (my opinions here) in an interview with the Washington Post:

I don’t think the network is anywhere near built out to the capability that we need it to be built. And when you start wanting to do full-motion video, and do the kinds of simulations in real-time market places, and all the things that we want to go do, do the surveillance and the audit trail and all the other things we want to do, the network ain’t there yet. And it’s going to require lots of R&D and anything that kind of blows up the movement forward of the network, I think, takes out not only the network service providers but also the content creators. So if I had to err in the short run, I would probably say, let’s just make sure we don’t screw up the investment in the network.

So, am I nervous about the issue? Absolutely. Whenever the legislators are involved, I think we all ought to pay attention….. Now, each side will negotiate very hard because there is a lot at stake here so I think as long as the government enforces antitrust policy aggressively, which basically ensures that consumers have a choice, we don’t have a real net neutrality issue.

I have a love/hate releationship with McNealy’s opinions. This is a case where I agree wholeheartedly. Regardless of business opinions, I think he is a good person and a great leader.

I’m going to miss have McNealy in the industry as he kept the computer business interesting long after things go commoditized. It will be neat to see where he ends up - it wouldn’t surprise me to see him end up at a Carrier- prefereably a Bell, where his personality might help spur a more innovative culture.