The net effect: as China´s Internet gets a much-needed makeover, will the new network promote freedom or curtail it?

This paper discusses the effect of the US $100 million ChinaNet Next Carrying Network (CN2) project undertaken by China Telecom Corp. on the government´s effort to censor its Internet. The project involves the installation of network routers in 200 cities throughout China´s 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. While there have been technological constraints on the amount of censorship possible at the router level, these are expected to be eliminate making censorship more a matter of politics than of technology.