From Susan Crawford’s blog:

From the OECD, a useful paper about interconnection online. It turns out (surprise!) that inter-networking is working fine without intervention. There are zillion networks out there, and as long as the local telecommunications environment is sufficiently open (all the way to opening up incumbent facilities to competitors), these networks are finding ways to connect on their own:

The greatest cost barriers to any country connecting to global networks are not traffic exchange relationships, in competitive environments, but monopolists charging high prices in the absence of such competition.

Also — where there’s facilities-based competition, broadband prices can plummet and services to rural areas can be profitable. Global Broadband Battles makes the same point: Reform to telecommunications regulation (opening up facilities to competitors) is the key to stimulating growth in access.

She thanks Milton Mueller for the pointer to the paper, so I thank him to the second degree…Tags:net_neutrality susan_crawford oecd

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