Internet users are quick to blame their specific Internet Service Providers for slow broadband speeds, but if the government has its way, all Internet speeds will be created equal.
After months of national debate over the ethics of net neutrality, U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement Monday asserting that the Federal Communications Commission must enforce regulated Internet speeds for all ISPs.
“I believe the FCC should reclassify consumer broadband service under Title II of the Telecommunications Act — while at the same time forbearing from rate regulation and other provisions less relevant to broadband services,” Obama said in the statement. “This is a basic acknowledgment of the services ISPs provide to American homes and businesses, and the straightforward obligations necessary to ensure the network works for everyone — not just one or two companies.”
If Obama has his way, broadband services will be treated as basic utilities in the eyes of the government. This way, ISPs such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS would all have to provide the same speeds to all of their customers. Internet users in every area of the United States would have the same quality of speed, regardless of their ISPs.
While many support the equality of a government-regulated Internet, many argue that giving the government control of ISPs would place too much power in the hands of bureaucracy and destroy the competition between broadband companies. The cable industry is primarily composed of a small number of giant corporations who hold a firm monopoly on all broadband services.
“To attempt to impose a full-blown Title II regime now, when the classification of cable broadband has always been as an information service, would reverse nearly a decade of precedent, including findings by the [U.S.] Supreme Court that this classification was proper,” said David Cohen, executive vice president of Comcast Corporation, in a statement. “This would be a radical reversal that would harm investment and innovation, as today’s immediate stock market reaction demonstrates. And such a radical reversal of consistent contrary precedent should be taken up by the Congress.”
Ever since the FCC deregulated the cable modem industry in 2002, essentially handing all control to the cable providers, ISPs have been able to do just about whatever they want with their customers’ Internet services. Without government regulation of Internet speeds, ISPs can essentially use their customers as pawns for negotiating with other companies.
Those who subscribe to Comcast may remember when Netflix was 25 percent slower in early 2013. Although Comcast has vehemently denied that this was intentional, many, including Netflix itself, believe Comcast slowed down Netflix on purpose while negotiating deals with the company. When angry Netflix customers began complaining and turning to other video-streaming services, Netflix was forced to cave into Comcast’s monetary demands – all at the expense of the consumer.
The idea of the government controlling Internet speeds is worrisome. Although almost everyone in the United States uses the Internet, it’s hard to categorize it as a service the government must regulate. And it’s true that forcing every ISP to provide the same speed would kill competition among providers. No one cable company can really be better than another if they are all providing the same service at the same exact quality.
But the government is not trying to socialize the Internet, and Obama is right in encouraging equal Internet speed for everyone. Having such an exclusive monopoly of ISPs is unfair for smaller businesses who can’t even compete in the market. And, in the current system, the small monopoly of ISPs can sacrifice their customers’ services while bargaining for more money.
Is net neutrality the best solution to these problems? No, but there are few other clear resolutions to such a complicated national dilemma. Forfeiting Internet speeds to the government would benefit consumers who, in the end, are more important than the cable providers. Assuredly, government regulation won’t fix everything, but it will end the cycle of abuse ISPs inflict on their customers. Although it may be more of a Band-Aid than a true panacea, Obama is right in enforcing the establishment of net neutrality.
