Have proponents of “net neutrality” gone too far? We’ve said so for awhile now, but even some websites sympathetic to Internet regulation are blanching at the latest bad idea, called “wireless net neutrality,” the latest idea from the theorist behind the original movement, Tim Wu. For instance, the reliably pro-NN, anti-telecom industry blog TechDirt has reluctantly published an article titled “Call For ‘Wireless Net Neutrality’ Just A Little Off-Base.” Here’s the short version:

Net neutrality is a loaded term that’s almost guaranteed to instantly raise people’s blood pressure. But it’s really a pretty poor term to use here. Wu raises some good points, but much of his paper is undermined by some misunderstandings of the market, and a failure to realize that the highly competitive mobile market is already moving toward openness, so any neutrality regulations would be premature and unnecessary.

The contributor doesn’t say what he thinks about plain old, wired net neutrality, but his arguments against the wireless form sound strikingly like, well, like that of a net neutrality skeptic:

Wu’s calls for neutrality regulations are premature and unnecessary. … The market is competitive, and any net neutrality or device attachment regulations simply aren’t necessary at this point.

We’ll certainly give them a hand for that.