I believe that continued regulation of the Internet as a common carrier is critical to the continued economic strength of the United States. Moreover, it is the natural, common-sense understanding of a person purchasing service.

As a student, an open internet has been critical to my ability to study machine learning and computer security. I think we'll agree that these are both critical areas of research in today's world, and it's important to support them. Sadly, both are at risk in a world without network neutrality. Few people need to collect data, but the data they need for these domains is often of tremendous size; that means that, if a data provider needs to pay an ISP for a fair allocation of bandwidth, they may be forced to levy significant fees on their users for data that they would like to provide for free. The free sharing of data that exists on today's Internet provides fuel for a tremendous engine of innovation.

In addition, as a customer, I look at the purchase of Internet service in the same way as a water or electricity hookup. I pay for access to a resource that is generally homogeneous. Where variations exist, they are due to the physical differences in infrastructure, or because I have willingly chosen to pay more or less for certain levels of quality. The ISP makes its money by charging customers; turning around and charging service providers is a form of double-dipping that seems like nonsense.

The FCC's role here seems patently obvious - it's just the same as another agency might regulate water quality. Like a public utility provider, an ISP has limited or no competition in its area - I know I'm lucky when I have a choice of even two providers, and that situation typically only exists in larger cities. People who live in the country may have only one choice. In such an environment, the free market simply does not function. A customer can't simply change providers if one engages in an unscrupulous practice. Returning to a "light touch" regulation scheme sounds to me like an unacceptable abdication of responsibility. Please, do your job.

Thank you for reading,
Jason Johnson