Competition/Antitrust

In the open-access network model, an entity owns a fiber network and allows other broadband providers to use the network to compete for customers.

A committee advising Gov.

It’s big news that both Comcast and Charter lost broadband customers in the second quarter of 2022. Both companies have steadily gained customers every quarter over the last decade. Comcast blames the customer loss on two factors.

When I look at all of the new market entrants into the broadband industry and the frenetic pace that internet service providers (ISPs) of all sizes are building fiber, one of the first thoughts that come to my mind is this is an industry that is headed for a roll-up. There has already been some consolidation of last-mile fiber networks, but the handful of networks that have been purchased will pale against the big roll-ups that I think will be coming in a few years. The industry will be ripe for roll-ups for several reasons.

Tim Wu, the White House adviser helping to drive the administration’s push to rein in corporate giants with tougher antitrust enforcement is planning to leave his position in the coming months. Wu is expected to return to teaching at Columbia Law School after a roughly year-and-a-half as special assistant to President Biden for technology and competition policy. Wu was part of a trio of antitrust hawks President Joe Biden installed in 2021 as part of a push to curb the power of sprawling companies — a fight that has focused in particular on tech titans like Amazon and Google.

This report examines data from the US and around the world to explore the current state of broadband in America, and the potential for an open access fiber model to create robust competition and bring about more widespread access, better service, and lower prices.

The cost for broadband service in the United States is high, and getting higher. In most metropolitan areas of the United States, residents are lucky to have two competing providers from which to choose. A third player in large metro markets is rare, but it's been seen before. The US bishops have argued for greater internet access for all. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, during the coronavirus pandemic, was a member of an informal coalition that sought to expand access to the internet in unserved and underserved areas.

Amazon has proposed concessions to settle two antitrust cases against it in the European Union, a fresh sign of changing strategy from big tech companies after the bloc passed a strict new digital-competition law. The US-based online retailer offered a pledge not to use nonpublic data about sellers on its marketplace, after the EU accused Amazon of violating competition law by using nonpublic information from merchants to compete against them. The European Commission, the bloc’s top competition regulator, said it was seeking feedback on commitments offered by Amazon to settle the cases.

MoffettNathanson joined the recent chorus of a steeper-than-anticipated slowdown in broadband subscriber growth for the second quarter of 2022, expecting large operators like Comcast and Charter Communications to report less than half the customer gains they did in the first quarter, while wireless customer additions are anticipated to maintain their recent upward momentum. After its purchase by SVB Financial Group, MoffettNathanson was required to reinitiate its coverage of the sector, and on July 12 it did just that.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel reaffirmed the FCC’s commitment to increasing competition within the communications sector following the one-year anniversary of President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy. “Our economy thrives on competition," said Rosenworcel. "Over history, it has inspired innovation, increased choice, and improved our resourcefulness and efficiency. That’s why over the last 18 months, the FCC has helped reinvigorate competition in the communications sector.