Back to the [Broadband] Future

[Commentary] The Federal Communications Commission needs to look back at how broadband proliferation occurred from the beginning to understand how to move it forward today. By studying the Cable Communications Act of 1984, the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the federal arm of our telecommunications regulatory system can learn valuable lessons about how to create a well oiled infrastructure with plenty of competition. Fast forward to today, and, due to years of deregulation, you have a closed infrastructure consisting of a few large operators. But you can't blame cable companies for taking steps to eliminate competition and protect their territories, because Wall Street demands it. To solve the problem, the FCC will have to look closely at network sharing, possibly viewing broadband like our interstate highway system and enabling a pipeline to share with all competitors. But the question remains as to who would build it out and at what cost. A competitive infrastructure is the right solution.