5 things neither side of the broadband debate wants to admit

[Commentary] The broadband debate desperately needs new, creative thinking. And the first step is for each side to admit where they've gotten it wrong. Here are a few suggestions.

1. American wireless service is working pretty well. Some left-leaning thinkers still bemoan the state of the wireless market, blaming the problem on excessive control by wireless network operators. But the reality is that competition among the four major cell phone carriers has served American consumers pretty well.
2. We're falling behind on residential broadband. More recently, incumbent telephone companies have largely given up on competing with cable providers. That has given cable companies in many parts of the country a de facto monopoly on high-speed broadband service, resulting in slow innovation and poor customer service.
3. We desperately need more broadband experimentation. Our broadband present is mediocre, but the real problem is that for many communities, there's no serious plan for progress in the future. It's not clear what the best approach is for getting the whole country to gigabit fiber networks. More experimentation is needed. That means, for example, that state laws banning cities from building municipal networks are a bad idea
4. Discrimination concerns are mostly about video streaming. The emergence of smartphones with fast network connections has mooted both concerns. Telephone incumbents have far more to fear from cell phones than they do from VoIP applications. And with everyone carrying a web browser in their pockets, there's little danger of a residential broadband provider trying to censor websites.
5. "Network neutrality" probably isn't the answer. As the Internet becomes increasingly dominated by large players that interconnect directly with each other, network neutrality rules will become less and less effective at preventing incumbents from using their market power against competitors. Other approaches will be needed to ensure the Internet stays open and competitive.