24
January 2013
Past Event
The Impact of Data Caps and Other Forms of Usage-Based Pricing for Broadband Access:

The Impact of Data Caps and Other Forms of Usage-Based Pricing for Broadband Access:

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
January 24, 2013
Default Event Image
24
January 2013
Past Event

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Speakers:
Daniel Lyons

Assistant professor at Boston College Law School

harold_furchtgott_roth
Harold Furchtgott-Roth

Senior Fellow and Director, Center for the Economics of the Internet

Usage-based pricing has rapidly become one of the most controversial topics in Internet policy. Many broadband providers have been migrating from all-you-can-eat, flat-rate pricing to a variety of consumption-based pricing models. This trend has been most prominent in the wireless broadband sector, where monthly data limits were an almost inevitable solution to the surge in data demand unleashed by the smartphone and tablet revolution. Some fixed broadband providers have adopted much larger data caps for residential broadband use as well.

While regulators have generally approved this shift, some consumer groups have viewed the change with skepticism, fearing that usage-based pricing will usher in an era of higher prices, deteriorating service, and increasingly anticompetitive conduct. They are concerned that data caps serve as anticompetitive tools with which broadband providers can protect their legacy cable affiliates from upstarts such as Netflix and Hulu. They also fear that firms will use capacity constraints to create artificial scarcity and pad profits while avoiding necessary network upgrades.

Professor Daniel Lyons evaluated the public policy implications for usage-based pricing strategies. Professor Lyons is an assistant professor at Boston College Law School. He specializes in the areas of property, telecommunications and administrative law. Before joining the faculty, Professor Lyons practiced energy, telecommunications, and administrative law at the firm of Munger, Tolles and Olson in Los Angeles. He also clerked for the Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Hudson Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth facilitated the discussion.

Related Events
02
July 2025
Virtual Event | Online Only
After Midnight Hammer: The State of Iran’s Nuclear Program and What’s Next in the Middle East
Featured Speakers:
David Albright
Michael Doran
Maxar satellite imagery collected on June 22 shows extensive damage at the Fordow underground nuclear enrichment complex. (Getty Images)
02
July 2025
Virtual Event | Online Only
After Midnight Hammer: The State of Iran’s Nuclear Program and What’s Next in the Middle East

David Albright, one of the leading experts on the Iranian nuclear program, will join  Michael Doran for a fireside chat on the state of Iran’s nuclear ambitions following Operations Rising Lion and Midnight Hammer.

Maxar satellite imagery collected on June 22 shows extensive damage at the Fordow underground nuclear enrichment complex. (Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
David Albright
Michael Doran
07
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Designating the Polisario Front: A Conversation with Rep. Joe Wilson
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Congressman Joe Wilson
U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) speaks during a news conference hosted by members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus at the Capitol on February 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
07
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Designating the Polisario Front: A Conversation with Rep. Joe Wilson

Michael Doran, director of Hudson’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, will host Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) for a discussion on the strategic benefits of designating the Polisario Front as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) speaks during a news conference hosted by members of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus at the Capitol on February 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Congressman Joe Wilson
09
July 2025
Virtual Event | Invite Only
Israel’s Economic Resilience after October 7: Navigating War and Strategic Pressures
Featured Speakers:
Noach Hacker
Michael Doran
Getty Images
09
July 2025
Virtual Event | Invite Only
Israel’s Economic Resilience after October 7: Navigating War and Strategic Pressures

Noach Hacker, Israel’s minister of economic affairs, will join Hudson’s Michael Doran for a discussion on how Israel has fortified its economic foundations for moments of extreme crisis. 

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Noach Hacker
Michael Doran
11
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Han Kuang Exercise and the Taiwanese Military’s Road to Readiness
Featured Speakers:
RADM Mark Montgomery
Brent Sadler
Bryan Clark
Moderator:
Riley Walters
Getty Images
11
July 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Han Kuang Exercise and the Taiwanese Military’s Road to Readiness

Hudson’s Riley Walters will discuss what to look for during these exercises and what more Taiwan can do to strengthen its defense posture with a panel of military experts.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
RADM Mark Montgomery
Brent Sadler
Bryan Clark
Moderator:
Riley Walters