IP Democracy: Roberts: Video To Dominate Internet Experience

It may not be big news, but the comment by Comcast CEO Brian Roberts cited by the Wall Street Journal today, that “video will become the dominant way people experience the Internet over the next five years,” is a reminder of the importance of today’s Internet policy debate.

Given that this statement was made by the head of the nation’s largest provider of cable TV and broadband Internet access services, a company that also has substantial holdings in and ties to the content business, it underscores the likelihood that the next five years will witness a growing convergence and transformation of the Internet and video content industries, both technically and in terms of services and business models. And, as I’ve said before, this process is likely to have significant implications for our political system and the wider economy, including America’s place in the global economy.

As the WSJ piece suggests, Brian Roberts is rightly focused on his company’s future in this new world of Internet video as, I’m sure, are Ed Whitacre, Ivan Seidenberg and other corporate CEOs.

My hope is that members of Congress are taking the broader view of what’s best for our country, and can find the time to think seriously about the complex issues at play in what is likely to be a heated political season in which much is at stake.

Posted by Mitch Shapiro on May 18, 2006 3:46 PM to IP Democracy