The Internet is Never Neutral

[Commentary] Dumb is better? That is what net neutrality advocates would have us believe. Their basic belief is that broadband networks should be pipes that indifferently pass information packets from one location to another, allowing content providers and customers equal opportunity to do whatever they want. Who could be against that? People interested in innovation and customer welfare. Remember Al Gore calling the Internet the information superhighway? The metaphor wasn't and isn't perfect, but it is instructive. Suppose we applied net neutrality to our transportation system — there would be no high-occupancy vehicle lanes during rush hour, no car-only lanes on interstates, and no toll road as an alternative to I-95 in South Florida. Transportation would be more costly and provide less value. Forcing net neutrality would have similar results. Time-sensitive information, such as stock market transactions, would wait in line behind football game highlights.

[Mark A. Jamison is the director of Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida. Janice Hauge is an associate professor in the department of economics at the University of North Texas.]