A letter concerning HR3636 Section 107 [ I agree in general with the letter .. djf]

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Posted-Date: Wed, 27 Apr 1994 08:35:48 -0400
X-Sender: dcc () tarragon lcs mit edu
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 1994 08:35:42 -0500
To: farber () central cis upenn edu
From: dcc () farnsworth mit edu (David C. Carver)
Subject: A letter concerning HR3636 Section 107




Dave/


Here is a letter that Sharon Gillett and I wrote concerning HR3636 Section
107 (Internet price regulation).  Thought you might be interested and have
suggestions for how to get the word out.  If you have an alternative
analysis, I'd like to hear it.


/David Carver


To whom it may concern,


This letter is a call for action.  Hidden in legislation currently pending
in Congress is a provision that threatens the future of the Internet.


Section 107 of HR3636 proposes to "enhance civic participation on the
Internet" by launching an FCC inquiry to investigate "whether common
carriers should be required to provide citizens with a flat rate service
for gaining access to the Internet."


Enhancing civic participation on the Internet is unquestionably a worthy
goal, but Section 107 specifically calls for an FCC inquiry to regulate
Internet pricing.  An FCC inquiry is a process dominated (captured) by
industries the FCC historically regulates.  Most Internet stakeholders
(individual users, service providers, and equipment manufacturers) have
little knowledge of how the FCC functions and this puts YOU at a great
disadvantage.


Moreover, the inquiry is biased toward implementing a specific solution to
solve a complex problem. What if the flat rate turns out to be $500 a
month?  Probably not a bad deal for junk mail businesses.  But seriously,
to develop effective policies requires an accurate understanding of
Internet technology and economics.  Internet economics are not well
understood and Internet standards and practices are evolving rapidly.
Instituting price regulation before these issues are understood will create
more problems than it solves.


It may seem that the exact wording of this legislation is not important,
especially when its intent is so clearly reasonable.  In fact, the words
become the law.  We therefore propose alternative language for HR3636
section 107.  Our version would direct the National Research Council to
conduct a study of the technical, economic, and policy issues involved in
enhancing civic participation on the Internet.  The following is the letter
we sent to our representatives and senators.  We invite you to do the same.




Sincerely,


David C. Carver, MIT Research Program on Communications Policy
Sharon Eisner Gillett, ISOC member


  **These comments are those of the authors and do not represent the**
       **official positions of their research sponsors or of MIT.**

A LETTER TO YOUR REPRESENTATIVE OR SENATOR


Dear <his or her name>,


This letter is to call your attention to section 107 of proposed
legislation HR3636 (shown in Attachment A).  This provision initiates an
"Inquiry on Policies to Enhance Civic Participation on the Internet"
to investigate "whether common carriers should be required to provide
citizens with a flat rate service for gaining access to the Internet."


While the stated goal of citizen participation is unquestionably
worthy, the language of section 107 would have unintended
consequences that would ultimately hinder, not enhance, participation:


(1) An FCC inquiry is the first step in regulating Internet pricing, but
the Internet is evolving rapidly and the economic issues are not well
understood.  It is therefor premature to initiate such a process;


(2) The structure of the inquiry is itself a barrier to effective
citizen participation.  The FCC and NTIA are strongly influenced by their
constituent industries and this puts Internet stakeholders (users, service
providers, and equipment manufacturers) at a big disadvantage;


(3) Casting the question in terms of "common carriers" and "flat
rates" forces consideration of a complex multifaceted question through the
lens of a single pricing model and therefore biases the outcome.


We therefore propose section 107 be changed. Instead of conducting an
inquiry, Congress should direct the National Research Council to conduct a
study of the technical, economic, and policy issues involved in enhancing
citizen participation on the Internet.  This study would provide a firm
foundation for future policy development. Language that constrains the
investigation to common carriers and flat rates is also removed.
Specifically, we propose this alternative language:


 1 HR3636 Sec 107. Inquiry on Civic Participation.
 2      (a) INQUIRY ON POLICIES TO ENHANCE CIVIC PAR-
 3 TICIPATION ON THE INTERNET.-The Computer Science and
 4 Telecommunications Board of the Commission on Physical Sciences,
 5 Mathematics, and Applications of the National Research Council
 6 shall appoint a committee to study the technical, economic,
 7 and policy requirements to enhance civic participation on the
 8 Internet.  Congress shall authorize $1 Million for the National
 9 Research Council to conduct the study and within 210 days from
10 date of enactment of this Act, the committee shall report to
11 Congress on the results of the study. The study shall be conducted
12 using the Internet and shall incorporate public comment on the
13 question of enhancing citizen access to and participation
14 on the Internet.


Sincerely,


<your name>

                                 Attachment A




HR3636 Section 107, Original Language:


 1 HR3636 Sec 107. Inquiry on Civic Participation.
 2      (a) INQUIRY ON POLICIES TO ENHANCE CIVIC PAR-
 3 TICIPATION ON THE INTERNET.-The Commission, in
 4 consultation with the National Telecommunications and
 5 Information Administration, shall initiate an inquiry into
 6 policies that will enhance civic participation through the
 7 Internet.  The inquiry shall request public comment on the
 8 question of whether common carriers should be required
 9 to provide citizens with a flat rate service for gaining ac-
10 cess to the Internet.
11      (b) PARTICIPATION IN REGULATORY AFFAIRS.-The
12 Commission, in consultation with the Office of Consumer
13 Affairs, shall conduct a study of how to encourage citizen
14 participation in regulatory issues and, within 120 days
15 from date of enactment of this Act, report to Congress
16 on the results of the study.