[p2p-research] Broadband open access an actual possibility

[Ryan]

Competition most important element of low cost....

Sent to you by Ryan via Google Reader: Broadband open access an actual
possibility via Joho the Blog by davidw on 2/14/10

Bloomberg reports that the FCC is considering requiring AT&T and
Verizon to lease their physical lines to other companies that want to
provide access to the Internet.

AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. would be forced to lease fast
Internet lines to rivals providing Web services to small businesses
under a proposal being weighed by the Federal Communications Commission.

The idea, proposed to the FCC by computer-services company Cbeyond
Inc., has support from the Small Business Administration, which said it
could spur job creation. The plan would add to competition for business
clients, who are also being courted by cable providers led by Comcast
Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc.

Letting competitors lease lines into businesses may boost Internet
adoption, help small businesses grow and aid job creation, said Colin
Crowell, an aide to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. “That is certainly
something that we’ll look very closely at, and has a lot of appeal as
part of a national strategy,” said Crowell. The change may be proposed
as part of the FCC’s national plan for increasing the use of high-speed
Internet, or broadband, that is to be delivered to Congress in March,
Crowell said.

This is (to me) unexpected good news. Assume that we want competition
in the Internet access market; the Berkman study for the FCC [pdf]
provides evidence that competition is the single most important factor
in providing low cost, high speed coverage. But, it’s impractical to
think that each competitor is going to get all the permissions and
spend all the money required to string (or bury) a new connective
fiber. Therefore, requiring those who have strung wires (frequently
with generous incentives and handouts from taxpayers) to act as
wholesalers to other Internet providers seems like the most pragmatic
way to make the market competitive. (I don’t know who Cbeyond is or
what their role in this is.)

I did not think the Broadband Strategy Initiative might propose
something so transformative of the market. I am encouraged. (BTW, there
are interviews with FCC folks working on the Broadband strategy up at
Broadband Strategy Week. A new one with Yochai Benkler, leader of the
Berkman study, will go up early next week.)

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