Strong Rules Called Necessary to Counter U.S. Rollout ‘Myth’
PARIS -- Large and small communications providers split Thurs. over regulating Internet-based services. AT&T said it accepts the need for “active oversight” of new services, but not rules. “Assuming the worst” about providers stifles innovation, said AT&T Senior Vp-Regulatory Planning & Policy Dorothy Attwood at the Global Forum here on digital convergence. But Marie Galere, an attorney for small rural providers, said strong regulation is needed to make the U.S. broadband deployment “myth” a reality.
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The “promise of convergence is growing the pie,” not just sharing it, Attwood said. The regulatory framework needs reformulation based on the key policy issues as they are pinpointed, such as privacy or emergency communications services. Incumbents like AT&T have unique duties to assume responsibility for services they historically handled, such as universal service, but their incumbency shouldn’t decide how much regulation they get in new markets, she said.
There’s much rhetoric in the U.S. about the extent of broadband deployment, but the infrastructure is pricey and infrastructure providers must sell “more than the pipe,” Galere said. The only way for providers, particularly small, rural companies, to survive is to sell applications on broadband facilities, and for that they need access to “essential” video programming such as HBO. But nontraditional providers are being blocked from the pipe by program vendors vertically integrated with cable TV operators, she said.
It’s not feasible to force small telcos to file costly complaints against bad actors, Galere said. She suggested crafting strong policies for content providers: Offer programming on a competitive basis, or suffer. But she urged strong controls on infrastructure providers and video service distributors to ensure services and benefits of convergence reach consumers.
Pulver.com Gen. Counsel Jonathan Askin said he has tried to “get the hell out of the regulatory arena” as regulators focused sequentially on new developments -- from standard telephony to Internet-based video, increasingly seen in regulatory terms. Regulators are even eyeing the virtual world, he said.
The Internet Protocol (IP)-enabled world should be able to create a “virtuous cycle” between application and service providers, but the U.S. fight over net neutrality threatens that, Askin said. Attwood called net neutrality one of the “more frustrating” discussions there because players talk past each other.
EU countries have agreed to keep historical principles of openness, interoperability and end-to-end connectivity of the Internet by not over-regulating, said Bernard Benhamou, formerly head of forecasting and Internet governance for France’s prime minister, stressing he was speaking as an academic. European countries oppose a centralized Internet, preferring a “structural separation” between services and infrastructure. The Wikipedia has nearly as much traffic as eBay, he said, but if a company with only 3 paid employees has to pay for access to the local loop, it will lose its independence, Benhamou said.
Net neutrality raises the issue of access to Internet backbone, Galere said. Backbone providers must be able to interconnect so subscribers can get to applications online. It’s sometimes said that developing nations fear Net neutrality could harm development, said Summit Strategies International Pres. Miriam Sapiro. She backs the openness and end-to-end principle, she said, but fears the phrase “net neutrality” is a “clever term” for net regulation. More govt. intervention could have harmful effects, she said.
In the end, user empowerment to maximize the online experience will determine Internet success, Askin said. Give it a big enough pipe, make sure users control their own experiences and that collective use will revolutionize the Net, he said.