Funding the Future of Universal Connectivity

More than 30 years since the first honk and screech of commercial dial-up, there is a conspicuously empty seat at the collective table of global high-speed connectivity. Six companies account for half of all internet traffic worldwide. These six companies have a combined market cap of $9 trillion. It’s a far cry from their garage start-up days, and without question, they are tremendous American success stories. However, does it still make sense that the government and broadband providers alone fund broadband infrastructure? Is there no shared obligation from the primary financial beneficiaries of these networks—the world’s most powerful internet companies? The European Union has a consultation underway to consider a model proposed by European telecom operators that would require large traffic generators to pay network support contributions directly to broadband providers rather than to a government fund that supports national connectivity objectives. As the US government correctly notes in its recent comments on the consultation, the proposed model varies significantly from the approach taken in this country to advance universal, high-speed connectivity. We concur with the US government’s position that rather than the payments to broadband providers proposed in the EU, such “publicly accountable funding mechanisms can better ensure that resources are devoted to key policy objectives, such as improving access and strengthening network security, while avoiding discriminatory measures that distort competition.