News Release -- March 27, 1997
DIGITAL TORNADO:
THE INTERNET AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY
FCC Staff Working Paper on Internet Policy
The FCC's Office of Plans and Policy (OPP) today released a
staff working paper analyzing the implications of the Internet for the
FCC and telecommunications policy. OPP Working Paper No. 29,
"Digital Tornado: The Internet and Telecommunications Policy,"
was written by Kevin Werbach, Counsel for New Technology
Policy. OPP periodically issues working papers on emerging areas
in communications; these papers represent individual views and are
not an official statement by the FCC or any FCC commissioner.
"Digital Tornado" represents the first comprehensive
assessment of the questions the Internet poses for traditional
communications policy. A central theme running through the paper
is that the FCC, and other government agencies, should seek to limit
regulation of Internet services. In framing his approach, Werbach
states: "Because it is not tied to traditional models or regulatory
environments, the Internet holds the potential to dramatically change
the communications landscape. The Internet creates new forms of
competition, valuable services for end users, and benefits to the
economy. Government policy approaches toward the Internet should
therefore start from two premises: avoid unnecessary regulation, and
question the applicability of traditional rules."
After providing an analytical framework to understand the
forces driving Internet growth, and describing the Internet's
development and architecture, the paper addresses three primary
areas:
CATEGORY DIFFICULTIES
Policy and legal questions arising from the fact that Internet-
based services do not fit easily into the existing classifications
for communications services under federal law or FCC
regulations.
PRICING AND USAGE
Policy questions arising from the economics of Internet
access, including assertions by local telephone companies that
current Internet pricing structures result in network
congestion, and arguments by Internet service providers that
telephone companies have not upgraded their networks to
facilitate efficient transport of data services.
AVAILABILITY OF BANDWIDTH
Regulatory and technical issues affecting the deployment of
technologies promising to enable high-speed Internet access to
the home and to businesses, including the implications for the
Internet of the FCC's role in promoting universal service.
The paper is available on the FCC World Wide Web site,
<http://www.fcc.gov/>. The file is available for online viewing in
PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format at
<http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OPP/working_papers/oppwp29.pdf>,
or for downloading in WordPerfect format at
<http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/OPP/working_papers/oppwp29.wp>.
Copies may also be purchased from International Transcription
Services, Inc., 1919 M Street, NW, Room 246, Washington, DC
20554, (202) 857-3800.
-FCC-
News media contact:
Meribeth McCarrick or David Fiske at 202/418-0500.
Office of Plans and Policy contact:
Kevin Werbach at 202/418-1597.