Whether the firms that supply Internet hardware and software should face restrictions on the use of their property is an important and controversial policy issue. Advocates of “net neutrality” � including President Obama and the current FCC majority�believe that owners of broadband distribution systems (hardware used to distribute Internet and video services) and producers of certain “must-have” video content should be subject to prophylactic regulation transcending present-day antitrust law enforcement. Their objective is to protect the free and open culture of the Internet from efforts to foreclose or limit competition in the provision of content, including online video services, which they see as potential competition to older video distribution methods.
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Pre-emptive Regulation of Vertical Integration Could Harm Consumers
Pre-emptive regulation of vertical integration could harm, rather than help, consumer welfare because integration is not predictive of future market problems, states Bruce Owen in “Antitrust and Vertical Integration in ‘New Economy’ Industries” released today by the Technology Policy Institute. According to the author, “Toadying to uninformed populist fears of vertical integration between network providers and content creators by imposing investment-dampening ex ante regulatory constraints is likely to be far less useful to the public than steps to ensure effective competition among network providers.” Instead, he suggests ex post antitrust enforcement could address specific market abuses. The paper is a preliminary version prepared for the recent TPI event, “Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in High-Tech Industries.”
Broadband Editorial Distracts from Meaningful Internet Policy
A recent editorial on U.S. broadband is based on a flawed understanding of broadband data, addresses the wrong issues, and distracts from real policy concerns, states Scott Wallsten in “Scientific American’s Flawed Broadband Analysis,” published today by the Technology Policy Institute. The editorial’s assertions that broadband prices are too high and speeds are too slow ignore the more nuanced state of the broadband market, the author explains, and do not support proposals to mandate network neutrality, unbundle access to local loops, and reclassify broadband in order to regulate access.
October 22 Event: Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in High-Tech Industries
Please join the Technology Policy Institute on October 22 for “Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in High-Tech Industries,” where experts will discuss and critique four papers examining antitrust issues of concern for the technology and communications sectors. The papers were prepared as part of the TPI project “Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Information and Communications Technology: Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in ‘New Economy’ Industries.”
October 22 Event: Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in High-Tech Industries
Antitrust enforcement in technology industries is complex, in part because the sector is characterized by continuous innovation. How can antitrust policy be formulated to prevent abuses yet not stifle innovation in these dynamic sectors? Please join the Technology Policy Institute on October 22 for “Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in High-Tech Industries,” where experts will discuss and critique four papers examining antitrust issues of concern for the technology and communications sectors. The papers were prepared as part of the TPI project “Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Information and Communications Technology: Antitrust and the Dynamics of Competition in ‘New Economy’ Industries.”
Broadband Competition Important for Spurring Investment
The number of wireline providers in an area has an impact on broadband speeds available, illustrating that competition is important for stimulating investment in networks, explain Scott Wallsten and Colleen Mallahan in “Residential Broadband Competition in the United States,” a white paper drafted for the Federal Communications Commission’s Omnibus Broadband Initiative. Wallsten discussed their findings yesterday at the 38th Research Conference on Communication, Information and Internet Policy, sponsored by TPRC.