Is broadband a public utility?

The Obama transition team has announced the appointment of two net neutrality advocates to guide FCC policy. One, Susan Crawford, has been quoted as saying that broadband is "....like water, electricity, sewage systems: Something that each and all Americans need to succeed in the modern era" while also despairing at "inadequate competition". No doubt that broadband is critical, but should it be treated as a utility?

Pursuing a public utility model while also desiring competition are fundamentally contradictory goals. Utilities are designed not to compete. Do you, or does anyone you know, have a choice of providers for water, sewage or electricity?

My second question would be: is there anyone in the technology world who sees public utilities as a model for innovation?

A 1.5 megabit connection (T1) was an unimaginable luxury when I started in tech in the mid-90's. It was for well-funded companies only. Today, it is a low-end consumer connection and costs around 80% less. Has your sewage service followed a similar trajectory?

A public utility is designed to be "good enough" and little more. There is no need, and little room, for differentiation or progress. Your electricity service is essentially unchanged from 20 years ago, and will look the same 10 years from now. Broadband, on the other hand, requires constant innovation if we are to move forward -- and it has been delivering it, even if we desire more.

Regulations like net neutrality are a big step in the direction of the utility model. It brings the Internet tighter into the bosom of government, and makes many kinds of experimentation illegal. The arbiter of good service is no longer the consumer, but the FCC.

Furthermore, such regulation works precisely against the goal of greater competition. Competition is spurred by lower barriers of entry so that new players can enter the market. A higher regulatory bar ensures that only the biggest companies, with lawyers and lobbying organizations, can participate. If that description reminds you of the current crop of dinosaur telcos, then we are on the same page.

Competition works. I think Crawford and I would agree on that. The question is whether we will pursue policies that bring it.

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See also "Net neutrality locks in the dinosaurs"

Comments

[nick]

Nice post. You hit the nail on the head.

[anonymous]

Here is the question to ask about Susan Crawford-- or any political appointee in her position..

What is this person's history in a broadband or telecom context?

Are they from the cellular world (like I believe Susan is) or from the ILEC or Cable/MSO world? This usually colors any position that take at the end of the day so to speak.

So, owing to the nature of the baggage that political appointees have, sometimes their public position can differ slightly from position they ultimately take behind closed doors. ie.. the devil is in the details.

IMO, the question to ask about folks like Susan is.. are they for innovation (which sometimes requires political "spine")--or for helping out those large or influential companies that once helped them?

Guess we'll have to wait and see..

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