(Chicago IL – June 8, 2007) On Thursday, June 7, Heartland Senior Fellow Steven Titch submitted testimony to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to a Notice of Inquiry on broadband industry practices–more specifically, what is often called “network neutrality.” You may quote from this statement or contact Titch directly at 312/925-0464, e-mail [email protected], for further comment.
For more information about The Heartland Institute, please contact Harriette Johnson, mainstream media specialist, at 312/377-4000, email [email protected].
The full text of Titch’s testimony is available online at http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=21397.
In his testimony, Titch writes:
- “I present here … a case against the regulation or prohibition of business, contracts, agreements, and transactions between Internet service providers and third-party providers who seek to maximize the performance of their Web-based applications and services.
- “Enforced network neutrality would add an unprecedented level of government interference in the way Internet applications work, and to what extent the sophisticated transmission mechanisms within the Internet could be used to facilitate future Web applications such as telemedicine and distance learning, as well as entertainment and e-commerce.
- “It is also questionable as to whether a policy of network neutrality is either workable or desirable within the environment of today’s Internet.
- “Network neutrality would close off an important revenue stream for carriers: quality, reliability, and partitioning services that very large applications providers will need for their services to work properly. This will chill investment and slow deployment. The overall utility of the Internet declines as it become clogged.
- “Although attacked as a ‘toll lane’ on the Web, such paid partitioning will keep the standard transmission lanes–still extremely fast–cleared for less commercial and less bandwidth-intensive applications, resulting in a better-functioning Internet for all. This will do more to ensure the Internet remains equally useful for all than regulating or banning Internet quality control.”
For more information about net neutrality, visit Heartland’s Web site at http://www.heartland.org, click on the “PolicyBot” button on the homepage, and then choose “Info Tech” and then “Net Neutrality” from the lists of topics.
Steven Titch is a policy analyst focusing on telecommunications, Internet and information technology. He is also a policy advisor to The Heartland Institute.
