Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Data traffic prioritization is one of the most unfairly maligned technologies. Caricaturing commonplace network management techniques as “fast lanes,” net neutrality activists warn that introducing the option of paying for specific performance levels of Internet traffic will destroy the characteristic “openness” of the web. This is false.

A key reason for the contentious fight over net neutrality regulation, and the source of its partisan strife, is that the way we classify broadband Internet access for legal purposes could have weighty long-term implications: Do we want a broadband system more like a public utility under Title II of the Communications Act, or do we want to rely on private companies to drive the evolution of broadband, with relatively light oversight from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)?

To most observers of US broadband policy, the regular and increasingly heated debates in this area appear to be about an evolving set of discrete issues: net neutrality, broadband privacy, set-top box competition, usage-based pricing, mergers, municipal broadband, international rankings, and so on. As each issue emerges, the factions take their positions—companies fighting for their firms’ advantage, “public interest” groups working for more regulation, free market advocates working for less, and some moderate academics and think tanks taking more nuanced and varied positions. But at a higher level, these debates are about more than the specific issue at hand; they are subcomponents of a broader debate about the kind of broadband system America should have.

One side wants to remain on the path that has brought America to where it is today: a lightly regulated industry made up of competing private companies relying on a variety of technologies. Another side, made up of mostly public interest groups and some liberal academics, rejects this, advocating instead for a heavily regulated, utility-like industry at minimum and ideally a government-owned system made up of municipal networks. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) firmly believes the former model—lightly regulated competition—is the superior one. But if we are to get broadband policy right going forward, it’s this broader strategic issue we need to identify and debate, not just narrow tactical matters.

Broadband networks are a critical part of America’s digital technology system and, as such, the issue of how to continue to drive investment and innovation in these networks is worthy of robust and sustained debate. But the broadband policy debate should be transparent about what it really involves: Is America better off with an ISP industry that is structured the way the vast majority of the U.S. economy is structured (private-sector firms competing to provide the best product or service at a competitive price, with the role of government to limit abuse and support gaps where private-sector competition does not respond), or do we want to transform this largely successful industry model into either a regulated utility monopoly model or government-owned networks? As we ponder this question, policymakers need to understand what the debate is fundamentally about and what is at stake as broadband populists push for each one of their thousand cuts.

One way to accelerate development and adoption of the Internet of Things is for the US federal government to be an early adopter. However, in addition to being an early adopter, the US government has a significant opportunity to support private-sector efforts at building the Internet of Things through other activities, including programs to provide technical resources; strengthen cybersecurity; develop industry-friendly regulations; ensure spectrum availability; support research, development, and demonstration; and coordinate stakeholders. Many of these programs are underway, although they often lack the coordination and scale necessary to support the Internet of Things as completely as possible. The purpose of this report is to shine a light on these activities, so policymakers have a better understanding of what is being done today and where gaps exist.