ISP Competition

It’s my guess that the debate on Network Neutrality has just gotten started. This will continue to be an issue for decades, unless we find a better way to sell Internet access.
Net Neutrality gets mostly contentious on the question of how much control Telecom companies can exert over the traffic that travels over their infrastructure. My gut pushes me to defend the telecom’s right to do what they want with the systems they’ve built or bought, that’s what a world of strong property rights would do. The fact remains though that the level of competition in the ISP market is incredibly low.
Customer choice typically lies in the choice between ‘fast’ cable or ‘less fast’ dsl. Or in some cases the same company that offers the ‘less fast’ dsl also offers the ‘faster’ fiber. The ‘fast’ company has little incentive to reduce rates or increase speed because there is no ‘faster’ option that they can hope to draw market share from.
Net Neutrality seems like nothing more than a new spin on the age old question of monopoly regulation. When you resolve the symptoms of monopoly the debate usually fizzles because there is no longer any need for it. It’s hard to ask for a better accountability master than a working market. That’s what I’m now looking for.