IEA Communications Officer Harrison Griffiths has written in CapX urging the government to seize the opportunity provided by Brexit to scrap the EU’s net neutrality regulations.

Harrison wrote:

“By forcing ISPs not to discriminate, the regulations prevent the rational allocation of scarce network resources to their most efficient use. This means that during periods of peak network demand, ISPs are required to run slower services for all network traffic, or forced to buy more equipment, which drives up costs for consumers. Self-evidently, the network speed required for streaming is significantly greater than that which is needed to send an email or share a file, but ISPs are prevented from specialising their service accordingly, which means greater network inefficiency.”

Harrison concluded:

“Net neutrality regulations are a noble attempt to create an open internet, one which is not encumbered by large companies acting as gatekeepers. But network access is a scarce resource, one which requires rational allocation. Only a free and open market is up to that task. Brexit provides an enticing opportunity to foster such a market and we should not squander it.”

Harrison’s article referenced new research on network regulation by IEA Head of Public Policy Matthew Lesh, which can be read here.

Harrison’s full article can be read here.