Regier says net neutrality an important issue

All the attention around the Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality regulations brings hope that Congress will intervene to come up with some sort of compromise. Net neutrality is the principle that Americans can engage in any lawful activity online knowing that their Internet traffic will not be slowed, blocked or interfered with in any way. It’s a principle everyone supports but has been stuck in multiple rounds of litigation and policy changes at the FCC. This type of back and forth appears inevitable without legislative action from Congress.

Something needs to be done. There is evidence that the existing regulatory framework (which the FCC is in the process of reforming) has resulted in a downturn in investment in Internet infrastructure, a trend that is projected to continue if the FCC’s 2015 decision to classify the Internet as a public utility is left in place. Lagging infrastructure investment can handicap rural areas. In a rural, mountainous Montana, it’s harder to deploy high-speed Internet everywhere like the more densely populated states may enjoy. Government policies shouldn’t make it harder by imposing regulations and demands that hinders the incentive for infrastructure investment.

I hope our congressional delegation can support a legislative compromise on Internet regulation. I believe this is the only way to restore robust investment while at the same time enacting commonsense net neutrality standards. Ultimately, congressional action seems to be the only way to bring both sides to the table on what has proven to be a thorny issue.

Republican Keith Regier represents Senate District 3 in the Montana Legislature.