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“Net Neutrality,” Non-Discrimination and Digital Distribution of Content Through the Internet

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Abstract

The vast majority of US residential consumers face a monopoly or duopoly in broadband Internet access. Up to now, the Internet was characterized by a regime of “net neutrality” where there was no discrimination in the price of a transmitted information packet based on the identities of either the transmitter or the receiver or based on the application or type of content that it contained. The providers of DSL or cable modem access in the United States, taking advantage of a recent regulatory change that effectively abolished net neutrality and non-discrimination protections, and possessing significant market power, have recently discussed implementing a variety of discriminatory pricing schemes. This paper discusses and evaluates the implication of a number of these schemes on prices, profits of the network access providers and those of the complementary applications and content providers, as well as the impact on consumers. We also discuss an assortment of anti-competitive effects of such price discrimination, and evaluate the possibility of imposition of net neutrality by law.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas Economides, 2007. "“Net Neutrality,” Non-Discrimination and Digital Distribution of Content Through the Internet," Working Papers 07-03, NET Institute.
  • Handle: RePEc:net:wpaper:0703
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    File URL: http://www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/Economides_Net_Neutrality.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Jörn Kruse, 2010. "Priority and Internet Quality," Chapters, in: Morten Falch & Jan Markendahl (ed.), Promoting New Telecom Infrastructures, chapter 10, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    2. Jay Pil Choi & Byung‐Cheol Kim, 2010. "Net neutrality and investment incentives," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 41(3), pages 446-471, September.
    3. Economides, Nicholas & Tåg, Joacim, 2012. "Network neutrality on the Internet: A two-sided market analysis," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 91-104.
    4. Jeong-Yoo Kim, 2009. "Competition in the LM market," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 209-218, October.
    5. Clemens H. Cap, 2012. "Towards Content Neutrality in Wiki Systems," Future Internet, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-19, December.
    6. Juliane Fudickar, 2015. "Net Neutrality, Vertical Integration, and Competition Between Content Providers," BDPEMS Working Papers 2015014, Berlin School of Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    net neutrality; Internet; price discrimination; vertical restrictions; two-sided pricing; horizontal cooperation; raising rivals’ costs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design
    • L12 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Monopoly; Monopolization Strategies
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets
    • C63 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Computational Techniques
    • D42 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Monopoly
    • D43 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design - - - Oligopoly and Other Forms of Market Imperfection

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