The FCC's decision to impose Title II regulation on Internet service will increase costs for cable operators and other Internet Service Providers and reduce investment, according to an analysis issued today by the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy.

"The scale of the negative effect [on investment will] be quite large: from about 5.5 percent to as much as 20.8 percent," according to the report's authors, Robert J. Shapiro and Kevin A. Hassett. They characterize as a "red herring" the FCC’s assertion that forbearing from some of Title II will allay negative investment impact.

In their 30-page report, InRegulation and Investment: A Note on Policy Evaluation Under Uncertainty, With an Application to FCC Title II Regulation of the Internet, they also single out "the ambiguity around what Title II rules will apply to which companies, services and under what circumstances." 

Such uncertainty will prompt ISPs to reduce some planned capital investments, at least until the FCC establishes "how, to what extent and toward whom the new regulations will be applied, and the legal challenges to those decisions have been resolved."   In addition to the line-up of legal challenges that could thwart the FCC Title II decision, the authors point out the ruling's impact on "end users, content and applications." They  conclude that its negative effects include "increased costs, prohibited practices and delayed innovation."