|
Op-Ed: New
report shows failure of European model (and Biden proposed) heavy-handed
internet regulation
[The Center Square] Johnny Kampis
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 that
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.
 U.S. Telecom’s research backs up the information previously
gleaned by University of Pennsylvania law professor Christopher Yoo, who
reported in 2014 that the U.S. broadband industry invested more than two times
per capita per household than the European industry each year between 2007 and
2012.
The U.S. Telecom report comes at a time when the FCC under President Biden looks
to return to its previous model of heavy-handed regulation, placing internet
services under Title II authority. Jonathan Spalter, president and CEO of U.S.
Telecom, said that would be a mistake.
[ to
top of second column] |
“While European governments imposed heavy
regulation on broadband—chilling investment in better, stronger and
more far-reaching networks—the U.S. bounded ahead by crafting a more
collaborative approach between the public and private sectors,” he
said.
“As we look to the future, we should do so with a clear-eyed
understanding of how we got here: The U.S. leads because smart
infrastructure has been advanced by smart policy that helped spark
more than $1.8 trillion—and counting—in private sector U.S.
infrastructure investment.”
Click here to respond to the editor about this article
 |
