FCC, Phoenix Center trade barbs on jobs study

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pushed back after the free-market think tank the Phoenix Center unveiled a study arguing that regulatory policies in the communications sector could have an adverse impact on employment.

Paul de Sa, chief of the FCC office of strategic planning, questioned the findings. "In its latest 'study,' the Phoenix Center appears to have reached its conclusions before conducting the research," he said. "The study goes to great lengths to prove the obvious: investment in communications creates jobs." But the report ignores the FCC's record with policies that "both catalyze investment and create jobs," he said, noting the agency approving White Spaces order, approving the Harbinger and Verizon-Frontier transactions, and cutting costs around pole attachments. "Instead, the Phoenix Center arbitrarily assumes that the FCC's actions will reduce investment and concludes that employment will fall. In this challenging economy, we need solutions, not spin," he said.