The LA Times offered a new voice in the net neutrality debate. Here are the claims that deserve rebuttal. Claim: With a 3-2 vote, the FCC overturned a long tradition — one that had only culminated in 2015 in the […]
BEREC’s guidelines on zero rating are another “economics-free zone”, populism is the guiding principle
The former chief FCC economist Tim Brennan upon leaving the agency called the 2015 Open Internet Order an “economics-free zone.” The comment was picked up the the Wall Street Journal. Brennan said he made the remark in jest but has […]
Academic evidence on zero rating and net neutrality policy for the EU, 2011-2016
See my full comments to BEREC on zero rating Academic evidence for outcomes on zero rating and net neutrality policy for EU 2011-2016. Special letter for BEREC 26 July 2016 Frode Sørensen, Co-Chair Ben Wallis, Co-Chair Net Neutrality Expert Working […]
Should the FCC regulate broadband privacy?
Here is my response to the FCC’s NPRM 16-106 on privacy. Roslyn Layton FCC NPRM 16-106 May 27 2016 Initial Comments Reply Comments With this NPRM, the FCC attempts to promote rules to regulate broadband privacy under the ruse of […]
Bombshell: FCC Open Internet Rules are an “Economics Free Zone”, WSJ mention
I was quoted yesterday in a Wall Street Journal article describing the revelations of former FCC Chief Economist Tim Brennan who called the FCC’s Open Internet rules an “economics free zone.” It appears that the rules were based […]
Response to Barbara van Schewick on Zero Rating, “users must have access to the whole Internet”
State of the Net featured a panel discussion on zero rating on January 25, 2016 where I debate the merits of zero rating with Barbara van Schewick of Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society. See video here Fireside […]
Internet Coupons, 1-800 Data and Zero Rating. More value for consumers, innovation and competition.
Zero rating, while not an official term, commonly refers to the practice of exempting some data from charge on a mobile subscription, is nothing more than price or service differentiation. It can be recognized in the concepts of value added […]
Zero rating: does it help or hurt consumers and competition? Evidence from Chile, Netherlands and Slovenia
Earlier this month I was pleased to present my paper on zero rating co-authored with Silvia Elaluf Calderwood of the London School of Economics at the annual TPRC and fhi360, a leading international development organization focused on improving outcomes in […]
If crowdsourced network quality tools are so good, why don’t operators, universities, and regulators use them more?
A recent story appeared in the Guardian about a study that alleges American broadband providers are purposely slowing access to websites, amounting to widespread net neutrality violation. The study is reported to have been conducted by BattleForTheNet which uses the […]
Message to India on Zero Rating: Don’t ban what you don’t understand.
A number of academics globally including my colleague Silvia Elaluf-Calderwood and I, are in a race against time. We are trying to compile data and conduct research on a mobile business model called zero rating before it outlawed in a […]
Majority of Americans say no regulation needed for net neutrality, vote shows
There has been a simmering debate about how and whether the principle of net neutrality (treating all Internet traffic the same) should be preserved. Five commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are set to vote on sweeping Internet regulation today. […]
My Introduction to Internet Governance. Highlights from the IGF in Istanbul.
In Fall 2014 I had the honor to participate in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Istanbul. The IGF is a working group of the United Nations with goal of providing policy perspectives of internet governance. The forum has a […]
Why Presidential support of Title II may delay net neutrality rulemaking
What is Title II and why is it an issue? Title II refers to a section of America’s Communications Act from 1934, the set of laws that govern America’s communications networks and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). President Obama expressed […]
Universal Service in the Digital Age. Read my filing to the #CommActUpdate.
Read my filing here. Roslyn Layton Comm Act Update Universal Service There is an important debate in the digital age about the commitments we keep to people of low-income and those who live in rural areas. There has been a notion […]
Honored to Participate in FCC Roundtable on Mobile Broadband Today
I was a panelist on the FCC Roundtable on Mobile Broadband. See the proceeding here. While the comment period regarding the Federal Communication Commission’s Open Internet Notice of Proposed Rule Making ended yesterday, the FCC continues to consider new rules […]
How to govern the internet. Join the conversation at the IGF Istanbul.
Some 3000 participants from around the world will convene in Istanbul 2-5 September for the 9th meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF). The role of IGF is to support the United Nations Secretary-General in developing governance principles for the […]
Read Roslyn Layton’s FCC filing on #NetNeutrality
I submitted my comments in response to the Federal Communication Commission’s May 15, 2014 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in GN Docket Number 14-28, relating the Open Internet. Here is a summary. The FCC should not adopt sector specific net neutrality […]
Competition policy to make a level playing field for all communications. #CommActUpdate.
The House of Representatives is in the midst of updating the Communications Act from 1934, the laws that govern America’s ICT industry. This is an important opportunity to modernize communications policy and regulation so that it reflects today’s dynamic reality […]
The African Mobile Story. Check out our new book.
Here is a book that should answer everything you ever wanted to know about mobile in Africa. It is written by practitioners and academics who have on the ground experience about mobile in Africa. It provides the most up to […]
Suggestions to improve American spectrum policy for the #CommActUpdate
Here is my letter on to Congress on ways to improve spectrum policy. I submitted this as part of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s process to update the Communications Act. Essentially I advocate that federal agencies pay for their […]
What is roaming and why should you care
Read my editorial on roaming in US News & World Report. Roaming is a way for a wireless subscriber to keep a connection going even when one travels outside the network area. Ideally operators can build networks as large as […]
How to tell whether the wireless market is competitive enough
The recent comments of Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son (Japan’s richest man) about America’s mobile market have called into question the conventional wisdom of competition. Son has managed to irk almost everyone with a series of contradictory comments in an apparent […]
Competition in the Wireless Market: Testimony to the US Senate
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee for Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights held a hearing on Competition in the Wireless Market on February 26, 2014. This hearing was presided by Chairwoman Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member Mike Lee including representatives from […]
Who wins, US vs. EU, in broadband policy?
There has been a natural experiment in the US and EU for the last 10 years in broadband policy, the results are in. A decade ago the EU accounted for one-third of the world’s broadband investment; today that amount has […]
#CommActUpdate. Read my letter to Congress on how to improve communications regulation.
It’s not true that Congressional representatives only think about getting re-elected. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden have launched a multi-year effort to reform the Communications Act of 1934. Signed […]
Broadband in the US vs. EU. Watch me on C-Span
On January 17, I presented on C-Span about some of the key myths of broadband. Myth 1: Europe is a broadband utopia Myth 2: America infrastructure is lagging Myth 3: Americans pay more for less broadband compared to Europeans. Watch […]
Why the FCC wins with a loss on the net neutrality court case.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the Federal Communications Commission does not have the authority to regulate the internet. Read the decision here. There is no doubt that certain parties wanted to see a […]
AT&T’s Sponsored Data: Why this is nothing new and there is nothing to fear
As the decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals on the Open Internet rules nears, the debate on net neutrality is heating up. AT&T’s Sponsored Data has received undeserved criticism. Here are research notes from Strand Consult http://www.strandreports.dk/sw5927.asp http://www.strandconsult.dk/sw5946.asp Here […]
Time to bring the U.S. up to the global mobile inflight standard
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has opened period of public comment on allowing passengers to use mobile phones on planes. This is an important issue because Mobile phones provide consumers convenience and connectivity. A reversal of the current ban on […]
Online and mobile shopping records on track to be broken for the 2013 Thanksgiving period
It was an exciting shopping weekend in the USA. Half of all Americans shopped either online or off. According to a press release from the National Retail Federation, 141 million unique shoppers went to stores over the weekend, 2 million […]
Perspectives on Net Neutrality
I study net neutrality among other topics in internet economics. My thesis projects investigates the consequences of net neutrality to investment in broadband infrastructure. My comments about this topic have appeared in various media. Wall Street Journal editorial on the […]
Convergence and Divergence on the Internet
For a concise yet breathtaking history of networks, read this document by Bret Swanson of Entropy Economics. Swanson explains how the the American vertical voice network has evolved to a paradigm of horizontal hyperconnectivity. He gives a dizzying account of […]
The Internet of Things: A Brave New World
Some time ago we passed the point in which machine users outnumber human users on the internet. An internet characterized by machine users, whether it be cars, refrigerators or running shoes, has different needs and use cases than human beings. […]
EU Plan for the Digital Single Market
It would seemt that if Europe has a single market for physical goods and services, that it should also have one for digital goods and services. Well, this is not the case. For the last three years Neelie Kroes, the […]
Meeting of the Minds: Telecom Policy Research at TPRC41
Leading academics and policy researchers who study the internet and telecom gather every year for the Telecom Policy Research Conference at George Mason University. This year marked the 41st gathering. There was an exciting discussion about whether common carriage is […]
The EU Broadband Challenge
Many Americans believe that broadband is better in Europe, but the the European Union has a number of challenges to realize their 2020 broadband goals. I have prepared a multipart analysis of these challenges. Check it out at TechPolicyDaily. Here […]
Understanding the Microsoft Nokia deal
There was no doubt that the holiday weekend was over when the Tuesday after Labor Day opened with the news that Microsoft bought Nokia. Read my commentary in Information Week on why this marks the end of the “phone maker” […]
The Technology Liberation Front Takes On Broadband
The Technology Liberation Front is a leading website to share views on technology policy and internet freedom. This week I am guest blogger on broadband topics. Check out my blog posts comparing broadband and economic development around the world […]
New Series on Broadband in New York City
The greater metropolitan area of New York City has some 20 million people. It is a city state and has some special needs and conditions for broadband including the world’s largest financial sector, one of the largest subway systems, vast […]
Susan Crawford’s Captive Audience
Law professor Susan Crawford has received much attention from her book Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age. She advances a thesis about a cable/telco duopoly and argues for government ownership of broadband networks. I read […]
Setting the record straight on broadband
The numbers consistently tell a better picture about broadband internet in the USA, but some are reluctant to accept it. It is fashionable for some media to join the “America is falling behind” chorus because it helps sell more […]
Generating Growth in Europe – How the ICT Sector is the Solution
Neelie Kroes and the Dream of the Common Digital Market in the EU Click the link to get a PDF version of this story. Generating Growth in Europe – How the ICT Sector is the Solution Europe has been in […]
Get the 10 Myths and Realities of Broadband Internet in the USA
Click to get the 10 Myths and Realities of Broadband Internet in the USA Recently there have been a series of books and media telling a negative story about broadband in America. I have read these books and articles and […]
Myth #10: Broadband itself is the key to economic growth.
Myth Broadband internet is like water. Just add it to a community, and the economy will grow. Where this myth comes from There is no doubt that there are macroeconomic benefits to broadband. For example, there are great broadband packages […]
Myth #9: The government should invest in internet infrastructure.
Myth Internet infrastructure is far too important to be left to the private sector. The government should invest in internet infrastructure. Where this myth comes from There is an ideological view that certain industries and services should be under government […]
Myth #8: People in rural areas should pay the same for broadband as do people in cities.
Myth There should be one price for broadband for everyone. Where this notion comes from It’s easy to compare prices in different locations using the internet. People like to think of broadband as a commodity and assume that they […]
Myth #7: We are missing out on important applications because the necessary speeds are not available.
Myth We need 100 Mbps broadband internet to access new and important applications. Where this notion comes from There features of different network types lend themselves to more or less throughput. For example mobile networks can become congested with too […]
Myth #6: People want internet access but can’t get it.
To get all 10 myths, click on Downloads on the upper right. Myth More than one-third of Americans lack internet access because the price is either too high or the service is not available where they live. Where this notion […]
Myth #5: Faster broadband speed is inherently better.
To get all 10 myths, click on Download on on the upper right. Myth America is suffering because it’s not number #1 on Akamai’s State of the Internet report. Possible Explanations American society is obsessed with numbers. People have a […]
Myth #4: Carriers are holding back the future.
Click on downloads on the upper right to get all 10 myths. Myth Carriers don’t want to invest in new technologies or in expanding their network. They simply want to ”harvest” returns from existing customers and infrastructure installed decades ago. […]
Myth #3: There is no competition for broadband internet service.
To get a copy of all 10 myths, click on downloads on the top right. Myth Americans are held captive by just two wired broadband providers and just two wireless broadband providers. Where this notion comes from Susan Crawford uses […]
Myth #2: Carriers are gouging consumers and enriching themselves with the profits.
Click on Downloads to get all 10 myths. Myth Compared to other countries, Americans are paying more for slower speeds. Carriers are using the profits to enrich their shareholders, not improve their services or invest in infrastructure. Where this notion […]
Myth #1: America is falling behind in broadband.
To get all 10 myths, click on Downloads on the upper right. Myth The USA, once the world’s leader in broadband internet networks, lags behind in broadband speed as other countries, namely South Korea, Japan, Sweden and Denmark, do a […]
Understanding mobile prices in the US and EU
An important new report has just been released about the markets for mobile service in the US and the EU. Commissioned by the GSMA, the global trade organization of the mobile industry, it expresses concern that Europe is falling behind […]
FCC vs. FTC: Which protects consumers better given net neutrality?
Net neutrality continues to simmer as a contentions policy issue. Given the longstanding disappointment from camps both for and against it, let us review regulatory framework for the issue and which agency is better equipped to address it, the Federal […]
YouTube Paid Channels: An internet disruption of cable and pay TV?
OTT player YouTube now a pay TV service I am quoted in this article about about internet business models and YouTube’s new paid TV channel offering. For $4-7 dollars per month, YouTube offers advertising-free access to 50 channels. Just like a […]