Phoenix Center Says Rate of Broadband Speed Increases Dropped Under Title II

"recently made the unsurprising observation that broadband speeds in the U.S. continue to rise" without referring to the regulatory debate. "Seeing all things through the lens of Net Neutrality, Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld immediately laid claim to the trend, asserting that the data in NCTA’s post supports the FCC’s reclassification decision," said a Phoenix release Tuesday. "According to Mr. Feld, the speed trend confirms that the 'Title II Virtuous Circle' is 'totally working' because the rate of increase has accelerated since the FCC adopted the Title II Reclassification Order in February 2015.” Saying "an empirical question requires an empirical answer," Phoenix released a study by Chief Economist George Ford that it said subjects Feld's "theorem" to tests using Akamai speed data. "Data reveal a statistically significant decline in the rate of average broadband speed increases for the U.S. subsequent to the 2015 Open Internet Order," said the release. Ford said that "but for" the FCC order, "U.S. broadband speeds would have been about 10% higher -- or about 1.5 Mbps faster -- on average." Feld, who passed along two links (here, here), replied: "Let us savor the irony that I find myself believing NCTA when they tout their own successes, while Phoenix Center sets out to demolish NCTA's blog post. It is apparently easier for Phoenix Center to believe that NCTA are liars who cannot be trusted to summarize a report from Akamai than to simply admit they are wrong about net neutrality and Title II."