Why the FCC Needs to Get With the Times, Finally

[Commentary] We are in the midst of a transition away from copper wire-based communications services to broadband Internet-based services. The Federal Communications Commission needs to act with dispatch to adapt its regulations to the new digital age marketplace realities.

The relevant point for the FCC and other policymakers is not, as pro-regulatory advocates often imply, that all of the services offered by all of the competitors are not perfectly substitutable all of the time for all consumers. No, the relevant point is that, for a large, ever increasing number of consumers, a choice of various IP-based competitors exists, and these competitors, in turn, offer a choice of attractive service options. The FCC needs to act more quickly because the longer the old copper facilities must continue to be operated, the greater the costs incurred through loss of foregone investment and innovation. To the extent the FCC lacks any needed authority, or fails properly to exercise such authority in a timely fashion, then Congress should be ready to step in with near-term legislation. Aside from any near-term legislation, ultimately Congress should adopt a comprehensive Communications Act overhaul that substitutes a deregulatory, free market-oriented regime for the current public utility-style regulatory mandates. Under a new Digital Age Communications Act, the FCC’s regulatory interventions in the new IP world should be required to be tied closely to evidentiary findings of market failure and consumer harm.