Reclassifying Broadband Under Title II Will Not Increase Competition

On September 26 at the National Press Club, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel laid out her arguments for reclassification. Among them was a claim that the lack of broadband competition makes Title II necessary. One can make coherent and serious arguments supporting Title II and net neutrality. But Title II because of the state of competition? No. The Chairwoman is right that areas actually served by only one provider and likely to continue to be served by only one provider really do require more oversight than areas with more competition. But clear trends over time showing increased competition plus the arrival of new facilities-based competition blanketing the country suggest increasingly smaller shares of people live in such areas. The data on current broadband availability, recent trends, and emerging new competitors, all suggest that competition supports maintaining the status quo rather than supporting Title II.

[Scott Wallsten is President and Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute.]