Creating more competition in the broadband market will have create jobs and stimulate the economy, five public-interest groups told the FCC late Mon. in comments on Internet policy recommended by a study done for the Federal Communications Commission by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society. A copy of the filing is here.
In a filing with the Commission supporting a study on broadband unbundling, the groups said: “Broadband competition leads to economic growth, more jobs, and lower prices for consumers. As the Berkman Study makes clear, unbundling increases broadband penetration, bringing more broadband to more people and businesses. As a result, countries with policies that encourage structural separation experience a growth in Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”). This growth comes from the increased productivity and opportunity that broadband provides. The Commission should recognize the benefits that structural separation has brought to the countries examined in the Study, and move to create similar beneficial policies here in the United States.”
Unbundling is one regulatory means of opening the telecommunications networks of incumbent telephone, wireless and cable companies to competitors to offer their own services. In addition, the groups, Public Knowledge, CCTV Center for Media and Democracy, Media Access Project, Media Alliance, and U.S. PIRG, suggested said the Commission “should recommend readopting open access policies such as unbundling and structural or functional separation for broadband services as part of the National Broadband Plan. Open access policies would increase competition in the market for broadband services and greatly improve the levels of penetration in this country.”
The U.S. formerly followed open policies, but repealed many of them. Several studies, including one submitted with the comments, show that, contrary to the arguments made by incumbent carriers, unbundling does not hamper investment. Instead, it contributes to economic growth, the groups said.
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