Yesterday afternoon, USTelecom filed reply comments addressing the Federal Communications Commission’s proceeding on broadband industry practices. Specifically, our comments oppose “network neutrality,� the political term of art for what amounts to unprecedented regulation of the Internet and the network operators who provide Internet service.

Although people are familiar with the benefits of the Internet for things like e-mail, entertainment, and shopping, high-speed access opens a well of new options. Saving time and fuel by telecommuting, cutting health care bills with telemedicine, providing educational opportunities through distance learning: these things and many more are possible with broadband.

Our comments send a strong warning to the would-be regulators: for Americans to realize broadband’s potential, service providers must have the flexibility to adapt their networks to the demands of content and services that require high-speed, high-quality transmission. Just as innovation has put more intelligence into toasters, washing machines and cars to provide better service, so networks must be more intelligent to manage the steep—and inevitable—growth in traffic that will occur as more and more people take advantage of broadband’s potential to improve the quality of their lives.

As our filing indicates, consumer power, a competitive broadband market, and sustained entrepreneurial investment are the keys to continuing to unlock all the potential in the Internet. Consumers have steered the commercial Internet’s evolution thus far, and they should remain in the driver’s seat to keep competition and innovation moving forward. So far, consumer demand and a light regulatory touch have driven the push for technology competition with great success; our filing references a recent report by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit that identifies the U.S. as having the most competition-friendly climate for information technology in the world. Net regulation would certainly strip us of that distinction.

Our comments mention what might be one of the strongest arguments against regulation: when the FCC removed regulations dictating how telecom companies built and operated broadband networks, demand skyrocketed, prices fell and new services came to market.

Our reply comments make another key point against regulation: it’s a solution in search of a problem. After exhaustively seeking comment and input on the matter of broadband industry practices from experts, industry, and advocacy groups, both the FCC and the FTC have concluded that there is simply no broadband market failure to correct. Thus it is easy to conclude, to quote our comments, that “there is no basis for the Commission to reverse the very successful course it has charted and begin imposing new regulations.�

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