The classic way of leveraging private investment in some kind of capacity-carrying infrastructure for public good is to rule it a common carrier [1]. All of this 'Title II'/'net neutrality' spat of the last few years is about how one regulator, the FCC, interprets various laws (including the Telecommunications Act of 1934 and the Telecommunications act of 1996) about where ISPs fall [2], court cases and ruling that have been brought in its wake [3], the FCC's change in approach in response to those court cases [4], and a bunch of complicating factors about whether the FCC or the FTC is the appropriate regulatory body that decides the exact regulatory regime. So, without further lawmaking, that ship has sailed.
So if we can't adopt some rule that would treat privately-owned cables, let's say on the last mile, as common carriers, what are some other options? Deny further vertical mergers affecting telecom infrastructure? This doesn't solve the current entrenchment. Let localities take the issue into their own hands and build out publicly-owned networks that would support open access for providers running on top? This is a sensible idea, that's currently difficult to pursue in almost half of the states [5], and most legislative efforts to make this difficult have come from Republican lawmakers [6][7], despite citizens of all political leanings in favor of localities being allowed to do this [8][9].
So if we can't adopt some rule that would treat privately-owned cables, let's say on the last mile, as common carriers, what are some other options? Deny further vertical mergers affecting telecom infrastructure? This doesn't solve the current entrenchment. Let localities take the issue into their own hands and build out publicly-owned networks that would support open access for providers running on top? This is a sensible idea, that's currently difficult to pursue in almost half of the states [5], and most legislative efforts to make this difficult have come from Republican lawmakers [6][7], despite citizens of all political leanings in favor of localities being allowed to do this [8][9].
[1] https://medium.com/@TebbaVonMathenstien/network-neutrality-a... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCC_Open_Internet_Order_2010 [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verizon_Communications_Inc._v.... [4] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/02/fcc-v... [5] https://broadbandnow.com/report/municipal-broadband-roadbloc... [6] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/10/another-state-la... [7] https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/81c82846-... [8] https://muninetworks.org/content/pew-survey-reveals-overwhel... [9] http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/04/10/americans-ha...