The debate over net neutrality has moved into the wireless space with the publication of a paper by Columbia University law professor Timothy Wu, claiming mobile carriers’ iron-clad control of networks is retarding innovation and hurting consumers.
‘The wireless industry, over the last decade, has succeeded in bringing wireless telephony at competitive prices to the American public. Yet at the same time, we also find the wireless carriers aggressively controlling product design and innovation in the equipment and application markets, to the detriment of consumers. In the wired world, their policies would, in some cases, be considered simply misguided, and in other cases be considered outrageous and perhaps illegal,’ said Wu in a paper released by the New America Foundation. He has also presented his views last week at a Federal Trade Commission workshop on broadband connectivity competition policy.
Citing robust competition among mobile carriers and MVNOs as well as their diverse service offerings and business models, Michael Altschul, general counsel of cellphone association CTIA, told the FTC conference that ‘wireless should not be subject to any net neutrality rules. Policy makers should allow the market to continue to work and regulate only in the event of a market failure.’
The issue of wireless net neutrality is gaining steam at a time when FCC Chairman Kevin Martin is calling for a new rule to classify wireless broadband as a largely unregulated ‘information service’, which would subject Wi-Fi and WiMAX carriers to far fewer restrictions than telcos and cellcos, and would also spark debate over whether cellular carriers can also be classified as wireless broadband operators as they move to 3G and beyond.