You can find George Ou’s follow up commentary here.

Quite contrary to a Free Press report released this month claiming that Net Neutrality regulation would not interfere with investment, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation along with economist and former FCC Commissioner, Harold Furchtgott-Roth have produced separate studies using two different methodologies, both of which indicate that a decline in broadband investment because of regulation cannot be supplemented by investment from software and online content providers.

Conclusions both studies reached include:

• A reduction in investment of just 2 percent by the broadband services industry would eliminate between 24,000 and 31,000 jobs, according to ITIF and Furchtgott-Roth.
• A reduction by 5 percent would eliminate between 47,000 and 78,000 jobs; and
• A 10 percent decline could be expected to eliminate more than 100,000 jobs according to both sets of research.

It is estimated that the broadband industry invests roughly $70 Billion a year.  A significant portion of this is used toward broadband.

ITIF and Furchtgott-Roth used two different economic methodologies, the multiplier effect and regression analysis respectively.  Free Press obtained their results comparing AT&T investment before and during a 2 year period in which AT&T had to adhere to Net Neutrality, including the 5th Principle of Nondiscrimination, after their purchase of BellSouth.

However, it should be noted that the 5th Principle of Nondiscrimination that AT&T was held to during that period was far different than the 5th Principle of Nondiscrimination that has more recently been proposed by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and appears in recent legislation.  This revised principle employs far more heavy handed regulations and it could outlaw existing businesses that are a substantial part of the economy.

You can find George Ou’s follow up commentary here.