Net Neutrality: Changing Regulations Won’t Kill the Internet

Over the past 25 years, the internet has grown and changed in ways, both good and bad, that no one predicted. But at least one thing is constant: concern about how the Internet is regulated.  The Federal Communications Commission’s decision in Dec to change the regulatory framework governing internet service providers (ISPs) isn’t going to change that concern.

Since market power is the first step to check to rule out possible competitive problems, the most important economic feature would be to promote local broadband competition. If wireless companies continue to improve their speeds and reliability, they will be more of a competitive constraint on wired broadband providers. While some consumers may want gigabit speed service, if there are enough who are happy with 5G wireless speeds, then the competitive constraint will be sufficient so that the need for Title II regulation of broadband goes away. 

[Gregory Rosston is the Gordon Cain Senior Fellow at Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). Dr. Rosston served as Deputy Chief Economist at the Federal Communications Commission working on the implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996]