Competition/Antitrust

The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are deep in discussions over which agency can probe OpenAI, including the ChatGPT creators’ involvement with Microsoft, on antitrust grounds. The FTC initiated talks with the DOJ months ago to figure out which one can review the matter, but neither agency is ready to relinquish jurisdiction, which must be resolved before the government can formally intervene in one of the most high-profile and controversial tech partnerships in recent years. Microsoft has put billions of dollars into OpenAI over the last several years.

There’s not much new in T-Mobile’s latest report to the Federal Communications Commission on the progress it’s made since its merger with Sprint. The report, submitted on January 2, centers on the network milestones that T-Mobile has accomplished with respect to its 3-year commitments for nationwide 5G deployment, which includes low-band and mid-band 5G coverage, 5G sites, download speeds and more.

Google will allow developers on its Play app store to offer direct payment options to users in the company’s latest move to navigate increased regulatory scrutiny of its power. Google will allow apps to charge consumers directly rather than having to charge through Google.

For well over a decade, it was fairly easy to understand the trajectory of the broadband industry. But the industry is now in total turmoil. Within a short time, cable companies have stopped growing. Currently, all of the industry growth among big internet service providers (ISPs) is coming from cellular fixed wireless access (FWA). Last-mile fiber networks are being built across the country. Wireless internet service providers (WISPs) finally have the radios and enough spectrum to be serious competitors. When I talk about trajectory, I’m not talking about predicting 2024.

We write to provide economic insight to help states maximize the benefits of its Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) and other funds for its residents. Several economic concepts are critical to maximizing the benefit of the BEAD money for state residents.  

The prison communication industry is dominated by two companies—Securus and ViaPath. Together, they serve the vast majority of jails and prisons. Bundling of services is standard practice: devices, communication services, payment services, and even ownership of the inmate networks.

Since my last appearance before the House Commerce Committee in May 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has made considerable progress toward the bipartisan initiatives that Congress tasked to NTIA. These include:

The Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law devotes $65 billion to a moon shot mission, involving all 50 states and U.S. territories, to bridge the digital divide once and for all.

In November 2023, the Empire State Development’s ConnectALL Office released the draft New York State Digital Equity Plan and sought public comment on how New York will bridge the digital divide in the state.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) included $42.45 billion for broadband funding across the country, made available through the National Technology and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) sent comments to the NTIA prior to the release of the agency’s guidance for the BEAD program, urging the agency to “take a vendor and technology neutral approach to issuing grant funding,” and avoid supporting government owned networks, among other recommendations. After these recommendations were