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Full-Text Articles in Law
Off The Hook, Kevin Werbach
Off The Hook, Kevin Werbach
Kevin Werbach
Communications networks are the basic infrastructure of the digital age. The future of news, business, interaction, entertainment, health care, education, and many other areas will be built on top of these platforms. Network infrastructure is the dividing line between the old physical economy of scarcity and the new information economy of abundance. The legal framework for networks will therefore shape not only the telecommunications businesses that provide connectivity, but also the applications, services, content, and user activities that depend on it.
Unfortunately, communications networks are entering a vast legal grey area. As telecommunications and media converge into the Internet, they …
Only Connect, Kevin Werbach
Only Connect, Kevin Werbach
Kevin Werbach
There are two kinds of legal rules for communications networks, such as the Internet and the telephone system. Interconnection rules define how and when networks must exchange traffic with each other, and non-discrimination rules prevent networks from favoring some customers’ traffic over others. Each approach has unique strengths and weaknesses. The distinction has never been fully appreciated, even though regulators have imposed both requirements many times.
Non-discrimination questions predominate in communications and Internet policy today, thanks to the high-profile battle over “network neutrality” rules for broadband networks. Yet both sides in the network neutrality debate are mistaken. The central challenge …