We would like to remind readers of the special issue we will be running on 'Net neutrality'. We invite scholarly contributions on the relevant economic issues. Possible topics include: (1) the tradeoffs between QoS traffic management to better utilize network capacity versus expanding capacity to prevent congestion; (2) the pros and cons of permitting broadband providers to adopt more sophisticated pricing schemes, including pricing to consumers based on the value of service/application, and � drawing on the theory of two-sided markets � charging CAPs for access to consumers; (3) the impact of such departures from 'neutrality' on investment and innovation in both broadband and the complementary CAP segments; (4) the feasibility of distinguishing 'good' from 'bad' discrimination in traffic management or pricing; (5) how various tradeoffs depend on the degree of broadband competition and its future prospects; (6) whether regulation should be considered in segments other than broadband access, such as caching services, that also affect the delivery of Internet traffic to consumers; and (7) implications of evolving Internet technologies, and the feasibility and wisdom of considering Net neutrality regulation not just for �the (public) Internet� but also private IP networks.
Within the broad range of topics relating to Net neutrality, we welcome all rigorous economic contributions � theoretical, empirical, or careful case studies that provide useful analogies (e.g., what can be learned from past regulatory experiments).
We are delighted that we have three leading experts on Net neutrality to jointly guest edit the special issue. They are Professor of Economics at Georgetown University,
Marius Schwartz, Professor and Executive Director of Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program at the University of Colorado,
Phillip Weiser, and Professor and Executive Director of the Center for Communication Law and Policy at the University of Southern California,
Simon Wilkie.
In the first instance, all submissions or questions about possible submissions should be directed to the co-editor of the journal
Julian Wright. The deadline for submissions remains September 15, 2007.
