By Mitchell Lazarus, CommLawBlog, January 17, 2014
| The FCC should do the right thing and fix its old mistake that led | to the present situation. | | [Blogmeister's Note: This is an op-ed piece, emphasis on the "op", | or "opinion", element. It reflects Mitchell's personal assessment | of net neutrality following the D.C. Circuit's recent decision. The | views expressed are the author's; they do not represent the | editorial views of CommLawBlog or Fletcher Heald & Hildreth. They | do not necessarily represent the views of any of our clients, and | they certainly differ from those of some of Mitchell's colleagues. | We welcome debate here, so readers who disagree with Mitchell's | take on the situation are encouraged to post comments to it.] | | We all know the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has | struck down the FCC's key effort to craft "net neutrality" rules. | (See the court's opinion, and Paul Feldman's explanatory piece.) | | The invalidated rules would have required fixed broadband Internet | service providers (ISPs) to treat content providers even-handedly. | A cable TV company, in its role as Internet provider, could not | intentionally slow Netflix while putting through its own video | downloads at full speed. Nor could an ISP accept fees from a retail | site in exchange for favoring that company's traffic over that of | rival retail sites. | | Now, after the court's action, such discriminatory activities are | probably legal. | | Many conservatives, along with the FCC's two Republican | commissioners, are delighted. Many believe Internet companies | should be subject to regulation only by the free market and not by | the FCC. | | But the free market requires a market. There is not much of one for | ISP service. | | Most consumers have little choice among broadband providers. Most | neighborhoods have at most two options: telephone (or FIOS) and | cable. The complications of switching from one to the other are | huge and often prohibitive. Mobile 4G service is a poor substitute, | due to data caps. Fixed wireless ISP service is limited mostly to | rural areas. Satellite service is slow and expensive. Costs of | entry for would-be new providers are high; no new competition is | coming any time soon.
Continued:
Neal McLain (who is not the blogmiester mentioned above)