Limited High-Speed Internet Choices Underlie Net Neutrality Rules

The case for strong government rules to protect an open Internet rests in large part on a perceived market failure -- the lack of competition for high-speed Internet service into American homes.

The Federal Communications Commission's network neutrality approach makes sense, proponents say, because for genuine high-speed Internet service most American households now have only one choice, and most often it is a cable company. The new rules will not ensure competition from new entrants, ranging from next-generation wireless technology to ultrahigh-speed networks built by municipalities. Instead, strong regulation is intended to prevent the dominant broadband suppliers from abusing their market power. Technology, of course, can change quickly and unpredictably. So, analysts say, it is impossible to predict what the competitive landscape might look like in several years, or a decade from now. “But we are very unlikely to see any kind of broad-scale, national competitor to the incumbents in the near future,” said Kevin Werbach, a former FCC counsel and an associate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.