Net neutrality

The term “net neutrality” is in the news and while there are a number of parts to it the concept is based on the regulation of utility companies. Years ago when the power company installed its grid, it was a major project with millions of dollars in infrastructure. This meant that it was unlikely that another company would try to enter that market and the government feared that the monopolistic control would allow the company to raise rates so the FCC (federal communications commission) was formed to oversee rate increases. Two years ago President Obama included the Internet under the supervision of the FCC to prevent excessive rate increases. There is a major difference between the old power companies and the Internet and that is the cost of setting up a competitor. It is relatively easy and not that costly for another Internet provider to move into a given area and that is getting easier as technology improves. In today’s world if a provider raises rates too high it would be inviting a competitor to step in.