The costs and benefits of separating wireless telephone service from handset sales and imposing network neutrality obligations

Wireless operators in most nations qualify for streamlined regulation when providing telecommunications services and even less government oversight when providing information services, entertainment and electronic publishing. As wireless ventures plan and install next generation networks (“NGNs”), these carriers expect to offer a diverse array of services, including Internet access, substantially free from oversight by National Regulatory Authorities (“NRAs”). Wireless carrier managers reject the need for governments to ensure consumers safeguards such as nondiscriminatory access and separating the sale of handsets from carrier services. This paper will examine the costs and benefits of government-imposed “network neutrality” rules with an eye toward examining the lawfulness and need for such safeguards. The paper concludes that the rising importance of wireless networking for most ICE services and growing consumer disenchantment with carrier-imposed restrictions on handset versatility and wireless network access will trigger closer regulatory scrutiny of the public interest benefits accruing from wireless network neutrality.