Forbes

[Commentary] This version of the Bytes Chat discusses the wisdom of restrictions against municipal broadband with three economists who are following the issue closely.

Kyle Wilson: It’s worth remembering that unlike schools, installing a municipal network creates a new stream of revenue, even though it may not be enough to break even.

Imagine a metropolitan area in which every single home and business was connected to a municipal fiber-optic network and the internet was a public utility as accessible as electricity or water. That's exactly what San Francisco (CA) has pledged to do, making it the first major city in America to commit to such a project. Ten Forbes Technology Council members shared their thoughts on whether the city's massive tech undertaking will sink or swim, and what roadblocks they might encounter along the way.

Here’s how the concept of a free and open internet will continue to exist despite the repelation of these net neutrality regulations. If you’re a fan of internet freedom who would rather not pay several hundreds of dollars every year to be able to access the specific websites you like, the first and probably easiest way for you to fight back would be to use a virtual private network (VPN). But there’s a catch.

[Commentary] So long as the Federal Communications Commission is run by majority rule, members of the first faction will never achieve lasting protections to their liking; the pendulum will continue to swing with changes in the White House. The solution is obvious: Congress needs to give the FCC (or the Net Tribunal) a clear mandate to define appropriate ISP and tech platform behavior and to police it. Until that day comes, we will have more heart-pounding installments of the net neutrality saga than Star Wars.

[Hal Singer is principal at Economists Incorporated]

[Comentary] The Federal Communications Commission GOP majority did what it was intended to do with net neutrality, which was ignore overwhelmingly positive public support across political affiliations and kill the policy anyway. Aside from hurting real sources of innovation, rather than the fake sources like finding new ways to charge more, it opens the door for people of more moderate means and the poor to be at a greater disadvantage than before.

Reducing effective Internet access has a profound impact on low- to moderate-income individuals: