Net Neutrality Likely On Hold For Two More Years

The 2010 election is now history and I for one couldn’t be happier.  Instead of answering political robo-calls and fending off armies of doorknockers, we can now reflect on important issues like the implications of the new Republican House of Representatives on net neutrality. 

Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) is working hard to position himself as the next Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee – the committee responsible for passing Net Neutrality legislation.  Upton has long opposed Net Neutrality and was not a supporter of current Chairman Henry Waxman’s (D-Calif.) compromise proposal offered in September. 

The current proposal would have granted temporary authority to the FCC to regulate net neutrality on the Internet but not on wireless networks.  This proposal seemed dead in the water even before the election due to lack of Republican support.  It is most assuredly dead now.

Upton is much more inclined to let market forces drive behaviors rather than government regulation.  As quoted in Politico, Upton said, “You shouldn't have an overbearing FCC. Let the market work itself.  By allowing companies to compete in an unregulated forum, you're going to allow the faster deployment of new services and new equipment consumers are going to want.”

This should be music to the ears Colorado broadband providers such as Comcast that provide last mile broadband connectivity.  Upton’s position also aligns with Jim Crowe, CEO of Level 3 Communications who said at an analyst conference in 2007,

“…it is the traditional Telcos, though, that really have the power if [the net neutrality issue] moves to the FCC.  They’ve got 100 years of experience.  I've participated in a reasonable fraction of that period, competing with the RBOCs, and I can tell you, they have plenty of lawyers, plenty of lobbyists, and if you want to move to their turf, you want to give them an unfair advantage, let the FCC start to arbitrate net neutrality.

Far better to let the market sort through the issue, far better to let customer preference decide the issue. Today it’s becoming increasingly clear that it is socially unacceptable to differentiate between packets; let’s hope that remains the case. But if not, far better to have recourse to the anti-trust courts than to the FCC.”

This doesn’t mean that net neutrality is dead but it seems unlikely that it will be an issue Congress will want to take on during the next two years.  Don’t worry though.  There are only 727 days until the next election.  You’ll know net neutrality will be back on the table when the robo-calls start.

- Howard Zonder