Commentary: Johnny Kampis - Heavy-handed internet regulations have failed users
Johnny Kampis
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A new report debunks claims that the heavily regulated internet of the European Union has resulted in a superior experience for its consumers. Instead, that study finds the U.S. bests the EU in both broadband deployment and adoption, showing that the lighter touch approach has yielded better results.
The report from U.S. Telecom found a stark difference in broadband development between the two, with wider gaps at faster speeds. For example, the U.S. leads the EU in deployment by 12 percentage points at download speeds of 30 Megabits per second and 25 percentage points at speeds greater than 100 Mbps. In adoption, the U.S. leads by more than 9 percentage points at 30 Mbps and more than 21 percentage points at speeds greater than 100 Mbps.
Publishing date: Jan 26, 2021 • January 26, 2021 • 1 minute read •
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(Bloomberg) Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, nominated for secretary of the Commerce Department, told senators at a confirmation hearing Tuesday that the U.S. needs to step back and devise a national spectrum strategy.
“The race is on for 5G. I want America to win and lead, and that requires spectrum,” Raimondo said. “What we need to do is and the president has been clear is to step back and have a national strategy on spectrum, and look to make spectrum available from public and commercial uses.”
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The Biden administration's agenda will face immediate pressure to address a related tech issue: access to home broadband that has become essential to continuing work, school and other important activities during the pandemic.
As President Joe Biden takes office, his administration faces pressure to immediately prioritize the expansion of broadband access and dismantle some of the Trump administration’s hallmark efforts to deregulate the Internet.
Even though Trump is leaving the White House on January 19, he’s set up the FCC to carry on his idiosyncratic policy goals well into the Biden administration, especially if a Republican-led Senate resists the new president’s nomination for a new chairman.
At the last minute, Trump decided not to renominate FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly because he dared to opine that the Federal Communications Commission should not be put in charge of regulating online speech – a position consistent with his conservative political views. However, Trump is hellbent on the evisceration of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides immunity to internet platforms of all sizes and type for the speech posted by third-parties, such as participants in an online forum, or a social media platform.