Network neutrality is good for ISPs

[Commentary] The Internet has resulted in profound structural changes to the telecommunications industry. It has been able to do what regulators have been unable to do-that is structurally separate the applications layer from the network layer. As a result of this structural separation, we have seen a proliferation of new businesses, new applications, and an improvement in productivity. Previously, networks were constructed for a specific application. And for the first time, the Internet allows new businesses to be created, which do not require the construction of a facilities-based network. We have benefited from an open Internet. The value of the Internet increases as the square of the number of users (Metcalfe's Law) times the number of applications used. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in its recently proposed rules, is attempting to codify that openness and protect consumers. This is a question of truth in advertising. All broadband is not broadband Internet access. It is the policy of our government to promote broadband access, but what is really meant is broadband Internet access, as it is this interconnected network of networks with multiple applications that has created the miracle of communications known as the Internet.

[Dave Schaeffer is the Chief Executive Officer of Cogent Communications.]