Appropriate Rules for Managed or Specialized Services

Abstract

In 2010, the Federal Communications Commission recognized a separate class of Internet-related services known as managed services or specialized services, but never defined what these services are. Poorly written rules for managed or specialized services could create a loophole large enough to make a farce of the Open Internet proceeding, or poorly written rules could unintentionally for managed/specialized services could prohibit certain capabilities that greatly benefit consumers. This paper describes how specialized/managed services should be defined, and what rules should and should not apply to specialized/managed services, so as to avoid both of these undesirable outcomes.

Keywords: network neutrality, open Internet, specialized service, managed service, quality of service, discrimination, reasonable network management

JEL Classification: L96, O38, L1, L2, L4, L5, D43, O31