Competition/Antitrust

I’m starting to wonder if big cable companies and telecom companies are assuming that a fifth Federal Communications Commissioner will soon be seated because the lobbying arms of these companies have been publishing documents that are an open plea to not regulate them. The latest comes in the form of a whitepaper from ACA Connects, which represents the mid-sized internet service provider (ISP) like Cable ONE, WOW! Internet, Mediacom, TDS, Armstrong, Hotwire, and ISPs of a similar size.

Incompas submitted comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s Public Notice that seeks input on the state of the communications marketplace to inform the FCC’s required assessment of the state of competition in the communications marketplace in its upcoming Communications Marketplace Report to Congress. Incompas states, in its comments:

With billions of dollars both public and private on the table, new fiber players are springing up left and right. Some are small, rural telecom companies who have decided to make the technology leap from DSL. Others are entirely new entrants targeting strategic pockets of certain states, as Wire 3 is doing in Florida. It seems almost impossible that all will survive in the long run. But is the fiber industry destined for a rollup akin to what’s already been seen in cable and wireless? And if so, when will it happen and who will be doing the buying?

Why should taxpayers subsidize improvements in rural America (“Why Rural Americans Keep Waiting for Fast Internet,” Page One, June 16)? Rural communities account for nearly one-fifth of America’s population and one-tenth of its gross domestic product. They provide water, food and energy to the country. Although well-intentioned, government contracts are only as effective as their oversight. Clearly the government fell short in Heavener (OK) and elsewhere.

Broadband markets in the United States are by and large competitive today, and the trends indicate that competition is becoming more widespread. Federal Communications Commission data show that the share of US households that have access to multiple providers of fast broadband is already very large and is increasing rapidly.

Antitrust action is desperately needed to reel in the practices of Big Tech companies, especially around privacy, according to Google's former head of advertising. Competition in tech is needed to ensure people are able to have private online experiences, because large companies like Google will never truly care about user privacy, Sridhar Ramaswamy said. Ramaswamy spent 15 years running Google's lucrative advertising business before launching Neeva, a subscription-based search engine.

The UK has nearly 5 million houses with more than three choices of ultrafast fibre-optic broadband, while 10 million homes do not have a single option, according to analysis that points to the inequality in internet infrastructure across Britain. While some parts of the country are benefiting from high internet speeds, others have been left behind, according to research conducted by data group Point Topic with the Financial Times. The government has pledged to bridge the digital divide and level up the economy by extending fast broadband to all homes.

Verizon flexed its promotional muscle, dropping the cost of its entry-level Fios and fixed wireless Home Internet plans to $25 per month and offering a four-year price lock for fiber customers on its faster 1-gigabit and 2-gigabit tiers. Verizon indicated it is looking to steal subscribers from cable competitors with the promotion, explicitly calling on customers to “ditch cable and switch” to one of its Home Internet services.

The Senate's Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband convened an oversight hearing on the Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and its implementation of the broadband programs in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson was the sole witness. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $65 billion in funding to connect all Americans to affordable, reliable high-speed internet.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) is beginning an epic effort to implement the broadband provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Congress allocated $42.45 billion to build rural broadband through the Broadband Equity, Access, and Development (BEAD) Program, and these resources have the potential to provide internet access to most if not all households that do not currently have access. NTIA states in its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that its focus is to provide service to unserved and underserved areas.