The Road to a Fast Track on the Web

[Commentary] Deitch write: “FCC, in a Shift, Backs Fast Lanes for Web Traffic” correctly points out the public outcry against the Federal Communications Commission’s recent decision on net neutrality. This outcry reflects the public’s justified fear that Internet traffic in this country is controlled by a small number of large corporations whose interests are not necessarily consistent with the public good…. High-speed Internet service is a necessity for hospitals, schools and government offices, as well as businesses and individuals. To allow unregulated control of these resources in the hands of a few private companies is dangerous and irresponsible. The law must be changed to recognize that high-speed Internet service is a utility, and regulations put in place to assure access to high-speed Internet service at a reasonable cost and without content discrimination.

Baker writes: Your editorial “Creating a Two-Speed Internet” notes that phone and cable companies have argued that it is unfair for private companies to heavily use the publicly funded infrastructure of the Internet for free. I could not agree with this more…. I also think that ending net neutrality would squash innovation while offering no public benefit in return. A minor addition to the FCC’s proposal could remedy both these issues at once. We could take some of what big Internet companies will be paying to providers in exchange for a fast track to consumers, and use it to accord the same privilege to the Internet’s smallest players: public media, nonprofits and private sector start-ups. If net neutrality really is doomed, why not make a provision for the public interest part of the new structure from the start?
[Baker is director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Center for Media, Public Policy and Education at Fordham University]