What do you think is going to be the engine that drives future economic growth and creates new jobs? US President Obama just made a high-profile bet for digital startups. His “net neutrality” decision announced in early March is a huge vote of confidence for these enterprises. And who did he bet against? The telecoms and cable companies whose pipes digital startups run on.

The “pipes” industry has gone through a spectacular expansion and dramatic contraction in the US over the last 20 years. Telecoms and cable company consolidations as well as efficient new kit to increase the capacity of the pipes has resulted in big job losses over the last decade. Meanwhile, the likes of Amazon, Google, Facebook and Twitter have generated thousands of new positions. And Mr. Obama undoubtedly sees more jobs where those come from, as long as he can keep those pipes – that is, the Internet – open for new startups.

“Net neutrality” proponents, of course, argue that all internet traffic – mission critical business email, streaming of your home team football match, those viral cat videos –should be treated equally. Whether or not you’re a net neutrality fan largely depends on which side of the market you are on.

For 13 years, I was the chairman of the European Union’s largest fibre-optic provider, Interoute. Guess which side I was on? Of course I wasn’t a big fan of net neutrality, since our team and our investors worked hard and spent dearly to drive revenues on our network – from zero in 2003 to €430m last year. No government subsidized our growth; no tax monies went to pay for our infrastructure investment.

Now I’m doing another startup, one that rides ON TOP of networks like Interoute’s. And guess what? I’m a new net neutrality convert. Yep, I can make the argument that my business and that of other startups in Europe’s emerging Digital Single Market absolutely require an open Internet upon which to launch new offers and to compete with established companies.

But the EU appears to be taking a different approach than Obama’s. Here, the focus is on mandating a two-track Internet: telecoms companies will have the right to charge extra for dedicated pipes; digital startups and consumers will be “guaranteed” access to a high speed Internet. Voila – tout est en ordre.

But how exactly will that work? An unusually diligent and forceful regulator will be required to prevent a two-track internet from becoming a two-tier system; large, established enterprises, including telecoms companies, will buy their own pipes, while digital startups and consumers will increasingly get squeezed. For most new ventures unable to pay for private networks, the Internet will be slow or expensive or both.

Here’s a third way: buy a pan-European network and dedicate a small bit of its capacity to startups. That’s a way to guarantee a pan-European platform for digital innovation and enterprise – and to help drive the Digital Single Market. A change in EU law that encouraged consolidation of the telecoms market might create the same asset and achieve the same end, but only after years and many thousands of jobs lost.

Call it “Europe at the speed of light.” It’s one of the more powerful and practical ways to bring about a Digital Single Market and help create the next generation of companies, jobs and innovation.

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