The Regulatory Yoyo Continues

We’re about to see the fourth change of the party in the White House in this century, and that means a fourth time that telecommunications regulations will flip-flop in what I’ve called the regulatory yoyo. Regulatory policies have always changed to some extent when the party in power changes, but in this century, the degree of change from administration to administration is more intense than what we saw in the past. Much of the regulatory yoyo comes from attempts to regulate broadband. Democratic administration tend to be more pro-consumer and want to put some restraints on abuses by big internet service providers. Republican administrations have been more hands-off in favor of letting the market regulate itself. Repeatedly going back and forth on regulation is not good for the broadband industry as a whole. One thing that is for certain—we’re not done yet with the regulatory yoyo.