Broadband Plan Sketches Competition Policy

Federal Communications Commission commissioners had a lot to say about competition and the National Broadband Plan. A lot of the language in the report paid tribute to the notion of consumers having more choice in broadband providers.

"To ensure that the right policies are put in place so that the broadband ecosystem to have an ongoing, data-driven evaluation of the state of competition," the report reads. And that was the rub for the Commissioners - how to have that further evaluation. The National Broadband Plan took no position on how the competition necessary to improve consumer welfare should develop, at least in the wired world. It sees competition developing in the wireless world with the release of more spectrum. That will only occur if the large incumbents who now lease most of the spectrum are kept away, to let others play. As good as the National Broadband Plan is, it would have been better had it met the competition issues head on. Their large absence from the 376 pages did not stop the discussion of how to achieve competition. In fact, their absence only highlighted their absence as the Commission tip-toed up to the line, then backed off.