Opinion
How the Protections of Net Neutrality Could Create the Next Google
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New innovative companies that “live” on the Internet rely on a level competitive playing field.
By Nicholas Economides
The Federal Communications Commission’s recent decision to protect the free flow of content on the Internet will ensure fair competition.
For 20 years, network neutrality — the idea that nobody controlled free open and nondiscriminatory access to the Internet — was the unwritten rule, and all Internet Service Providers, such as AT&T, Verizon VZ 0.04% and Comcast CMCSA 0.83% , adhered to it. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formalized the non-discrimination tradition on the Internet and preserved net neutrality. This is good news to ensure that the Internet remains a free market for innovation and provides consumers with unbiased choices when it comes to content.
Traditionally, telecommunications services are strictly regulated. However, despite the fact that the Internet provides digital telecommunications services, in 2004 the FCC categorized it as providing “information services.” This implied ‘light’ regulation and prompted AT&T T in 2005 to demand payment from content and applications companies to access AT&T’s customers. In return, AT&T offered to prioritize the content of whoever paid and delivered it before the content of others.
Read full article as published in Fortune
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Nicholas Economides is a Professor of Economics.
For 20 years, network neutrality — the idea that nobody controlled free open and nondiscriminatory access to the Internet — was the unwritten rule, and all Internet Service Providers, such as AT&T, Verizon VZ 0.04% and Comcast CMCSA 0.83% , adhered to it. Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) formalized the non-discrimination tradition on the Internet and preserved net neutrality. This is good news to ensure that the Internet remains a free market for innovation and provides consumers with unbiased choices when it comes to content.
Traditionally, telecommunications services are strictly regulated. However, despite the fact that the Internet provides digital telecommunications services, in 2004 the FCC categorized it as providing “information services.” This implied ‘light’ regulation and prompted AT&T T in 2005 to demand payment from content and applications companies to access AT&T’s customers. In return, AT&T offered to prioritize the content of whoever paid and delivered it before the content of others.
Read full article as published in Fortune
___
Nicholas Economides is a Professor of Economics.