Research Highlights
Professor Nicholas Economides Testifies Before Congress on Net Neutrality
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The decentralization of the Internet based on network neutrality fueled innovation resulting in big successes such as Google and Skype, as well as a myriad of smaller innovative companies.
Professor Nicholas Economides testified at a Congressional hearing convened by the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on the impact of net neutrality on investment. The hearing, titled “Common Carrier Regulation of the Internet: Investment Impacts,” took place on October 27, 2015.
Committee members reviewed the economic impact of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to implement utility-style regulation of the Internet. The subcommittee examined the effect of the FCC’s rule on investment and deployment of broadband networks, and what that means for American consumers, jobs and innovation.
"Network neutrality has facilitated businesses innovation 'at the edge of the Internet' without seeking approval from network operators," argued Professor Economides. "The decentralization of the Internet based on network neutrality fueled innovation resulting in big successes such as Google and Skype, as well as a myriad of smaller innovative companies." Pointing to the significant contributions of net neutrality to the fast growth of the high technology sector in the United States, Professor Economides stressed that departures from network neutrality would not be in the public interest and would create significant social welfare losses.
On the issue of investment by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), he testified that he did not believe that ISPs invested less in the first two quarters of 2015 because of the network neutrality regulatory rule.
Read Professor Economides’s complete written testimony.
Watch the full hearing (Professor Economides’s remarks begin at 22:30).
Committee members reviewed the economic impact of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision to implement utility-style regulation of the Internet. The subcommittee examined the effect of the FCC’s rule on investment and deployment of broadband networks, and what that means for American consumers, jobs and innovation.
"Network neutrality has facilitated businesses innovation 'at the edge of the Internet' without seeking approval from network operators," argued Professor Economides. "The decentralization of the Internet based on network neutrality fueled innovation resulting in big successes such as Google and Skype, as well as a myriad of smaller innovative companies." Pointing to the significant contributions of net neutrality to the fast growth of the high technology sector in the United States, Professor Economides stressed that departures from network neutrality would not be in the public interest and would create significant social welfare losses.
On the issue of investment by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), he testified that he did not believe that ISPs invested less in the first two quarters of 2015 because of the network neutrality regulatory rule.
Read Professor Economides’s complete written testimony.
Watch the full hearing (Professor Economides’s remarks begin at 22:30).