The Internet isn't broken. Obama doesn't need to 'fix' it.

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Chicago Tribune:

If you like your wireless plan, you should be able to keep it. But new federal regulations may take away your freedom to choose the best broadband plan for you. It's all part of the federal government's 332-page plan to regulate the Internet like a public utility — a plan President Barack Obama asked the Federal Communications Commission to implement in November and that is coming up for a vote Feb. 26.

 

While the plan contains no shortage of regulations, the most problematic may be the new "Internet conduct" rule. It's a vague rule that gives the FCC almost unfettered discretion to micromanage virtually every aspect of the Internet, including the choices that consumers have for accessing it. If a company doesn't want to offer an expensive, unlimited data plan, it could find itself in the FCC's cross hairs.

 

But restricting service plan options is inherently anti-competitive and anti-consumer. The inevitable results will be higher prices and less service for consumers along with an especially adverse impact on small providers and upstart competitors trying to differentiate themselves in a crowded market.

 

Consider that activists promoting this rule had previously targeted neither AT&T nor Verizon with their first net-neutrality complaint but MetroPCS — an upstart competitor with a single-digit market share and not an ounce of market power. Its crime? Unlimited YouTube. MetroPCS offered a $40-per-month plan with unlimited talk, text, Web browsing and YouTube streaming. The company's strategy was to entice customers to switch from the four national carriers or to upgrade to its newly built 4G Long Term Evolution network.

 

Or take T-Mobile's Music Freedom program, which the Internet conduct rule puts on the chopping block. The "Un-carrier" allows consumers to stream as much online music as they want without charging it against their monthly data allowance. And consumers love it; T-Mobile has been growing fast and may soon overtake Sprint as the third-largest wireless operator.

 

Low-price, prepaid voice plans are now also suspect. These plans brought mobile service to millions of low-income households, and because carriers have upgraded these plans to include data, they're the chief reason why such households now have mobile Internet access. But because these plans aren't the all-you-can-eat plans endorsed by the FCC, they, too, may violate the Internet conduct rule.

________

 

Why the Internet ain't broke.