Granted, if you believe the findings in John Kao’s book, “Innovation Nation – how America is losing its innovation edge, why it matters, and what we can do to get it back” then clearly there’s reason for serious concern.

That said, the current U.S. regulatory environment apparently isn’t a primary concern, if meaningful American innovation progress — within the Global Networked Economy — is the ultimate objective.

As an example, regarding the “Evolution of Content on the Internet” we need to celebrate the progress already made to date, to break down the legacy restraint-of-trade practices of the past.

The Internet was the enabler that dismantled the music recording industry’s restrictive and closed distribution of content that created a artificial scarcity of artistic content — now, in contrast, we have an abundance, thanks in part to the “open” Internet.

Likewise, the Internet has enabled broad exposure to a multitude of documentary films that would never have been distributed by the legacy movie industry. Again, scarcity has given way to an abundance as low-budget filmmaker and videographer substantive content that can now reach their full market potential online.

Let’s not forget all the previously untold News stories — and alternative points of view — that are finally seeing the light of day, once again, thanks to the open Internet. U.S. citizens are no longer limited to the selective coverage of the legacy News media. This is wonderful progress for anyone that values “real” democracy.

Moreover, as each and every one of the big media enterprises fails to survive in a the truly “free market” enabled by the global Internet, thousands of new entrepreneurial enterprises will take their place. This unhindered meritocracy has set in motion the extinction of the dysfunctional payola schemes of a bygone era.

My point: rather than portray recent events to increase openness in a negative light, perhaps the USTelecom membership would gain more friends and willing partners if they simply acknowledged the apparent upside to the remarkable open Internet phenomenon.

David H. Deams
Economic TeleDevelopment Forum