Broadband Developments in the United States Subsequent to the Federal Communications Commission's 2010 National Broadband Plan

The United States Federal Communications Commission delivered to Congress a national broadband plan in 2010. The purpose of this article is to analyze key economic arguments involving the development of the broadband plan addressing open network and competition issues, to make recommendations to the Commission in its formulation of federal policy as to positions that make the most economic sense, and to indicate recent economic and legal developments in broadband markets since publication of the broadband plan. One critical issue prior to the development of the broadband plan and subsequent to its publication is the competitiveness of the Internet Service Provider market. There is emerging evidence that, at least with respect to very high-speed broadband markets, a cable monopoly may be looming. The authors continue to predict with confidence that technological innovations are likely to make many opposing legal arguments obsolete in the near future.