Tim Brennan, professor of public policy and economics, was quoted in a recent Brisbane Times article about the possibility of proposed net neutrality rules in Australia. Brennan, who served as chief economist of the FCC last year, was interviewed after presenting a talk about attempts to create net neutrality rules for U.S. carriers at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) annual regulatory conference in Brisbane earlier this month.
Brennan urged regulators to take a cautious approach to net neutrality in Australia: “Before Australia embarks on net neutrality, it should have evidence of a problem and not merely presumptions that there could be a problem. Even a monopoly broadband provider has incentives to offer high-quality, unbiased access to its subscribers,” he told the Brisbane Times.
“Restricting the ability of broadband service providers to negotiate with specific users could inhibit the development of new innovations that over time could benefit all,” he added, pointing to the example of exclusive agreements between Apple and AT&T Mobile that led to the development of the iPhone and other smartphones.
Brennan is an expert in antitrust law and policy, regulatory economics, electricity markets, telecommunications and broadcast policy, and copyright and intellectual property. In addition to serving as FCC chief economist, he is a senior fellow at Resources for the Future, an independent organization that conducts economic research and analysis. Read more about Brennan’s research on the School of Public Policy website.
Tags: CAHSS, PublicPolicy
