Ending Big Tech's Free Ride

The Federal Communications Commission's current model for funding internet builds is now hopelessly outdated. The dominant platform for communications has shifted from the telephone network to the internet. Indeed, the revenue base associated with the traditional telephone network has fallen sharply from a peak of around $80 billion in the 2000s to less than $30 billion today as more and more services—including those now offered by Big Tech—are delivered over the internet instead. Yet we continue to rely on that shrinking base of revenues from the telephone network to fund the broadband network. This is like taxing horseshoes to pay for highways. This antiquated system is on the verge of collapse.

We should start requiring Big Tech to pay its fair share. There are several ways to implement this proposal. For one, Congress should enact legislation that ensures Big Tech contributes an equitable amount. Doing so would be timely given ongoing congressional discussions about paying for the broadband portion of a broader infrastructure package. Legislators could consider a range of potential revenue streams that have a sufficient nexus to the internet, including video streaming services like Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime; online advertising services like those offered by Google and Facebook; Apple's App Store and devices; content delivery networks and cloud services like AWS and online gaming services like Microsoft's Xbox. Meanwhile, the FCC should open a proceeding to look at ending the tax on consumers' monthly telephone bills and shifting a fair amount over to Big Tech.

[Brendan Carr is the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission]