The Railroad Precedent and the Web

[Commentary] The reaction to the Google-Verizon network neutrality proposal suggests that the network-neutrality debate has run its course.

Google made the simple point that competition justifies treating wireless differently from traditional access. Beyond ensuring nondiscrimination by providers with regard to content, does anyone really want an operating role for federal bureaucrats? Should government regulators assess the reasonableness of terms for cloud computing or pricing plans for cell phones? Regulations today leave providers uncertain whether they can earn back investments in broadband by charging for better levels of service.

Few seem to realize the similarities between today's rallying cry of net neutrality and the demands in the 19th century that Washington regulate the rails. The railroads were the Internet of their day, a network of communications, goods and services linking the country together. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was created in 1887 to ensure fairness and set rates, much as net neutrality proponents today want the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate traffic on the Web. The unintended result: Regulators protected incumbent railroads from competitors, suppressed new technologies, and left consumers with fewer choices and higher prices.