The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research
The Informed Policy Maker’s Guide to Regulatory Impacts on Broadband Network Investment
Dr. Larry F. Darby
February 10, 2010

You can find the full report here.

In this report Dr. Larry F. Darby confronts what he believes to be incorrect conclusions in a Free Press paper, Finding the Bottom Line: The Truth About Network Neutrality & Investment, by S. Derek Turner.  Dr. Darby and the ACI believe that the Free Press study bypasses “generally accepted principles of economics, accounting, and corporate finance.”  Darby explains that he takes exception to four conclusions made by Free Press imparticular:

• “…network neutrality rules do not deter ISP investment.”
• “Most U.S. ISPs are actually disinvesting in their networks by depleting more in asset value than they spend on new capital equipment.”
• “Lack of competition in the broadband sector depresses investment and boosts profits.”
• Absence of net neutrality rules will “…badly undercut the current investment in applications and services.”

Darby’s paper spends the bulk analyzing these four points one by one and provides data that shows that each does not seem to add up in peer review.  Darby closes his paper by aligning with Free Press in calling for “less rhetoric and more facts,” and additionally commenting that the Free Press paper is not “useful as a guide to intelligent public policy.”

You can find the full report here.