If It Ain't Broke...

This year’s first ‘official’ step in the internet regulation debate was taken earlier this week, with the introduction of the “Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2008” http://markey.house.gov/docs/telecomm/hr5353.pdf. There is a lot to talk about its implications and intentions, and while stakeholders are in the process of thoroughly reviewing the proposal, I want to suggest we could all save a lot of time and effort right now by answering a simple question:

What is the problem the bill is trying to ‘fix’?

Language in the bill indicates its purpose is to “promote openness, competition, innovation, and affordable ubiquitous broadband service for all individuals in the United States”.  Oh. You mean, like we have now.

The internet is a great American free market success story. It is flourishing today and is such a vital part of our lives because service and content providers all over the country and the world are driven by competition to innovate on a perpetual basis. The recent NTIA broadband report reveals robust broadband competition between multiple cable, satellite and wireless service providers, and that wireless is clearly becoming the internet access avenue of choice by new subscribers http://www.ntia.doc.gov/reports/2008/NetworkedNationBroadband
inAmerica2007.pdf.  And last summer, the Federal Trade Commission’s Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy report http://www.ftc.gov/reports/broadband/v070000report.pdf  concluded that competition and innovation was thriving in the U.S. broadband marketplace.

So again, what is the problem the bill is trying to ‘fix’?

The internet regulation crowd bases its claims on hypotheticals that suggest we need to do something today to make sure something that is highly improbable won’t happen tomorrow. There is a reluctance to recognize the facts and accept the situation they illustrate. The market is working, wonderfully, and corrective mechanisms already exist and can be enforced should they be necessary. New business models might evolve, but consumers will let providers know loudly and clearly what they think of them. That’s what has spurred internet growth in the past, and is a guaranteed formula for success in the future. If you’re not familiar with the FTC report, take some time to look it over. Consumers are getting service, value, choice, and access to content like never before, and the last thing we need is for the government to intervene and risk bringing internet innovation grinding to a halt. Now that would a problem that would need fixed. Let’s just hope we don’t have to.