Wireless over Wires

http://media.seekingalpha.com/article/7887

For our blog, we read an article about the telecommunications industry. The article stated that telecommunications companies put forth the initial investment to build a national infrastructure and should therefore be allowed to utilize it as they see fit, including the installation routers which violate the principle known as “net neutrality”.

We disagree with this position. While building the national infrastructure, telecommunications companies had the fixed cost of construction heavily subsidized by the federal government. Additionally, they were permitted to charge rates substantially above marginal cost without the threat of monopoly prosecution. Due to this economic assistance, we believe the infrastructure that supports the Internet is much more of a public good than it is portrayed as in the article. Thus, the government has a duty to regulate this contentious field.

We are not necessarily advocating for or against network neutrality legislation. However, we believe that the government has a duty to investigate the possible effects of network neutrality regulation. If it is found that such regulation would harm the research and development efforts of the telecommunications industry or hinder the creation/introduction of new generation of Internet products or services without providing substantial benefits to consumers, then government regulation should be avoided in this sensitive area. However, if the government investigation finds that the implementation of non-network neutral routers causes substantial harm to consumers, through decreased competition and increased prices, the government should impose net neutrality legislation to protect this valuable public asset.