The State of the Debate on Network Neutrality

The debate over “network neutrality” has recently emerged as the single most important communications policy issue—at least within the United States—that is now being debated around the world. The resolution of this debate may greatly influence what applications and content are available to Internet users, which business models are successful for service providers, which modes of social communication develop, and which technical designs are effective. As applications move to become Internet Protocol (IP)-based, the reverberations will also reach those sectors that build on or compete with the Internet, including the telephone, television, radio, and electronic commerce sectors. The magnitude of this issue demands careful consideration by policymakers. The papers in this special issue can serve as a valuable basis for such consideration.