While lately a number of people may have been left out of the policy making process, the FCC has opened up an opportunity for you to comment on its plans to bring good old fashioned heavy handed regulation of the Internet through “network neutrality” rules.
But comments are being accepted only until this Thursday, October 22, at www.openinternet.gov (then click the “Join the Discussion” link).
Over the last many weeks, in response to the FCC chairman’s comments and news reports that the FCC is prepared to pursue comprehensive regulation, a rising crescendo of voices has been heard expressing deep reservations.
Of particular concern is that these additional regulations would drive up consumer prices for an average Internet user even while holding down prices for the heaviest users. These regulations would increase prices for law-abiding Internet users while underwriting the cost of those who systematically steal from others or engage in other bandwidth hogging applications. The new rules would drive up prices for Internet service providers while subsidizing businesses that are built on the back of that access – almost as if those who use the most electricity wouldn’t have to pay extra to operate their factories while every homeowner paid more to subsidize that company.
Of great concern, new cost-increasing regulations making it harder for those in already hard-to-serve areas to have a variety of broadband options.
Moreover, one might ask why the great need to regulate? There’s a very aggressive private sector broadband rollout going on right now, which is driving investment and job creation. New regulations will put that very investment and those jobs at risk, and for no good reason, even while favoring companies which invest less money and hire far less people.
There is little evidence that any new regulation of the Internet is necessary or desirable, apart from the fulminations of ideologues who never liked the idea of privately owned networks in the first place. Evidence of behavior by network companies contrary to the public interest is neglible, and recent history suggests that network companies are simply interested in managing their networks efficiently, and have no interest in anti-competitive behavior. But when any “wrong-doing” was found the current laws and regulations were plenty to address the issue.
If you share our concerns about urging the FCC to take a much more cautious approach to regulating the Internet, now is the time to tell them so. www.openinternet.gov
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Today's TechByte was written by Bartlett D. Cleland, director of IPI Center for Technology Freedom.