Would Common Carrier Regulation Slow High Speed Access Investment?

By

Predictably, as potential regulation of Internet access as a common carrier service is at least raised by the Federal Communications Commission, opponents and proponents will make clear their respective views on whether such a move would harm, or would not harm, investment in gigabit and other faster networks.

The argument by Internet service providers will be that such regulation will have clear and negative impact on future investment. Supporters of common carrier regulation of access services will argue the ISPs are bluffing, and that common carrier regulation will not reduce investment.

The dispute about future investment is not limited to the U.S. market. In Europe, common carrier regulation arguably has restricted telco investment in faster networks, while cable TV networks, not covered by common carrier regulations have invested significantly.

The European Commission’s Connected Continent proposals, for example, are a direct response to regulator concern that not enough investment is happening.

The relatively low cost of upgrading cable TV networks and the widespread availability of cable TV networks in the United States has meant high availability of “superfast” broadband access in the U.S. market, a report by Ofcom, the U.K. communications regulator, suggests.

The high amount of facilities-based competition also has spurred matching investments by U.S. telcos, Ofcom says.

In Europe, where similar fixed-infrastructure competition is less common, regulators have opted instead for robust wholesale access requirements on telco fixed networks. That has lead to lots of retail competition in the high speed access market, but at the cost of lower investment  in faster facilities.

High speed access provided by cable TV companies, in fact, accounts for much of the higher-speed market share in European Union countries.

McKinsey analysts have estimated it will cost about $275 billion to $340 billion to upgrade half of EU homes to fiber to the home networks capable of delivering 100 Mbps service.

Though government subsidies will help, the bulk of that investment will have to be made by private firms making rational decisions about the financial return from making such investments.

One might argue that common carrier regulation of Internet access within the EU has contributed mightily to the problem of lagging investment in next generation access facilities.




Edited by Maurice Nagle
Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. [Free eNews Subscription]

Contributing Editor

SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Related Articles

Tech Innovation in iGaming

By: Contributing Writer    11/29/2023

iGaming is one of the fastest growing industries on the internet. For those who may not be aware, iGaming refers to online casinos, online slots, poke…

Read More

8 Underrated Features of Your Mobile Device You Probably Didn't Know About

By: Contributing Writer    11/21/2023

It is easy to get lost in all the new phone releases when multiple happen yearly. Consequently, most new functions go unnoticed because people do not …

Read More

Navigating the Launch: A Step-by-Step Guide to Bringing Your Product to Market

By: Contributing Writer    11/15/2023

Embarking on the journey to bring a new product into the marketplace is an exhilarating adventure that blends the thrill of innovation with the meticu…

Read More

Running MySQL on AWS: Step by Step

By: Contributing Writer    11/15/2023

MySQL on AWS is the deployment of the MySQL database system on Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform. MySQL is one of the most popular open-source …

Read More

4 Easy Responsive Image Techniques

By: Contributing Writer    11/15/2023

Responsive images are a fundamental component in responsive web design. They adapt to the size of the user's screen, delivering the best user experien…

Read More