The argument that a change to reciprocal compensation rules would automatically raise the consumer price of Internet service requires an examination of facts. Every price increase is not a tax increase. Prices provide consumers with choices among alternatives. By contrast, consumers cannot avoid taxes and taxes do not react to competitive pressures. There are a variety of prices offered for Internet service that range from free to thousands of dollars per month.
Most consumers pay between ten and twenty dollars a month for a dial-up connection to the Internet.
Any change to ISP prices would face immediate competitive pressures. Regulatory arbitrage is a relic of an era when state and federal policymakers set all contracts, prices, service offerings, and even costs. That day has passed. The 1996 Telecommunications Act opened a door to competition in telecommunications services. Consumers will realize the benefits of competition only when all aspects of the government coercion are removed from the marketplace.