A portion of the debate over net neutrality centered on whether subscribers should have the right to use devices of their choice. The FCC's Open Internet regulations included a "any device" rule, but it only applies to subscribers of fixed broadband Internet access service. In contrast, subscribers of mobile broadband Internet access service have no such right. Subscribers of wired common carrier telephone service and of cable television service also have a right to use devices of their choice, but subscribers of satellite television and cell phone service do not.

We propose here that users of all communication services should have such a right. We propose a law that ensures this right in all types of communication networks, while simultaneously ensuring service providers the right to reasonable network management.

We explore the issues that must be resolved in order to create unified regulation of device attachment in converged communication networks. It is apparent that it is not sufficient to merely state an “any device” rule without substantial development of further statutes or regulations that detail what this means. We posit that these issues include demarcation of the connection point between a provider’s network and a user’s network, delineation of reasonable network management of various user devices, subsidization of user devices, and content protection. Furthermore, reasonable network management in this context requires identification of not only which functions are reasonable but also in which devices. Thus issues of discrimination and harm also arise. For each such issue, we present an example of statutory language that could be used to resolve the issue.

This paper is intended for people with a background in communications policy:

A Proposed Attachment Statute for Converged Networks (with G. Shaffer), Journal of Information Policy, vol. 1, 2011, pp. 394-424.

This paper is intended for people with a technical background in networking:

Should Users Be Entitled to Use and Control the Devices of Their Choice on Networks? (with G. Shaffer), IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium (NOMS), Maui, Hawaii, April 2012.

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