Beyond the Pandemic?: Exploring the Impact of Covid-19 on Telecommunications and the Internet

Abstract from Chapter 9 “Net Neutrality in the USA During COVID-19” by Roslyn Layton and Mark Jamison from the book Beyond the Pandemic?: Exploring the Impact of Covid-19 on Telecommunications and the Internet, Whalley, Stocker and Lehr (Eds.) Emerald Publishing, 2023.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to review net neutrality and the notion that bright light rules are necessary to hold broadband providers from exercising market power. The 2015 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Open Internet Order asserted that broadband providers have the capability and incentive to harm their customers and third-party service providers. It imposed a set of rules to control broadband providers’ offers, prices, and traffic management. The 2017 FCC vacated all but the transparency provisions of the OIO, restoring the oversight of broadband to the FTC. This paper offers a review of the evidence regarding the effects of net neutrality regulation, including an investigation of the incidence of violations, or lack thereof, during the 2020 pandemic in the United States. It provides a review of the net neutrality literature and the international research on broadband provider behaviour during COVID-19. The paper presents original research conducted with FCC and FTC reports and a survey of news stories. Brief reviews of federal data on network performance and broadband adoption provide additional context. Given the limited incidence of violations that could be uncovered for the period, the paper suggests why broadband providers behaved opposite to regulatory advocates’ predictions. Contrary to many policy assertions, broadband providers did not block or throttle service, nor did they increase prices arbitrarily or decrease quality. Broadband providers appeared to expand availability, lower broadband prices, and make more networks available, frequently without customer charge. The paper suggests how policy could be updated to reflect the actual behaviour of broadband providers.

Editors:

Jason Whalley is Professor of Digital Economy at Northumbria Business School, Northumbria University, UK.

Volker Stocker is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society and TU Berlin, Germany.

William Lehr is a research scientist in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT, USA.

Published by

Emerald Publishing Limited (May 9, 2023)

Observations of the FCC’s Attempt Regulate Broadband Providers as Common Carriers

In Fall 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Safeguarding and Securing the Open Internet” (SSOI), to classify broadband as a common carrier service under…

Brief for Amicus Curiae Roslyn Layton in Mozilla v. FCC

Roslyn Layton possesses a unique perspective from having published peer-reviewed research on an empirical investigation she performed on the impact of net neutrality rules to mobile application innovation in 53…

Articles from ProMarket at the University of Chicago Stigler Center

Here are my articles from ProMarket at the University of Chicago Stigler Center.

Zero Rating Is The Free Sample In The Internet Ice Cream Store

In this article for the University of Chicago Stigler Center’s ProMarket, I describe the role of zero rating to promote competition and socially beneficial services. Most countries in the world…

Zero Rating

Here are my collected articles and publication on zero rating, the practice of not charging certain data to mobile subscriptions. Academic papers with Bronwyn Howell as co author Academic papers…

My academic research – Evidence-based policy research

Research is the systematic investigation into and study of questions to uncover facts and gather information. Policy research attempts to understand, assess, and compare how policies, regulations, and practices may…

Net Neutrality regulation is failing UK consumers, innovators, and investors. It’s time for broadband internet policy that improves consumer welfare, internet innovation, and network investment for the UK

Much is said and written about net neutrality (NN), but many claims are devoid of facts. European countries have had NN regulation for some years. European operators comply with the…

United Kingdom Ofcom Net Neutrality Consultation, January 13, 2023

Ofcom, United Kingdom, January 13, 2023 I applaud Ofcom for its efforts to collect evidence about whether its net neutrality regime is helping consumers and promoting innovation. I provide evidence…

When Net Neutrality Blocks End Users From Freely Learning Online

Oak National Academy in United Kingdom launched in the early weeks of the pandemic in response to sudden school closures. Millions of children were at home, and most schools were…

Who’s weighing in on broadband fair cost recovery? Fact checking the arguments from governments, trade associations, and think tanks

Reports and papers have emerged over the last year in the global debate for broadband fair cost recovery. Some reports, like that commissioned by the German government, reflect the need…

South Korea takes the next step in global broadband leadership with the Network Free Ride Prevention Act

Strand Consult has followed the development of South Korea for more than two decades. In the early 2000s Strand Consult demonstrated how South Korea, not Japan as many believed, made…

A global movement for broadband fair cost recovery is underway. John Strand talks with internet policy experts Roslyn Layton and Petrus Potgieter

Why do you have such a big interest in the way companies charge for traffic on the internet and what you call “fair cost recovery”? CEO John Strand talks with…