Competition/Antitrust

There is an easy way to simplify the upcoming battle between the Federal Communications Commission and big internet service providers (ISPs) over Title II regulation and net neutrality. The public expects the government to regulate industries that are essential. That’s the reason we regulate electric companies and drinking water quality. It’s the reason we regulate meat and drug safety.

This paper examines how the quality of Internet service from existing providers is affected when voters in Colorado approve referenda eliminating a barrier to their local governments providing broadband service. Using a difference-in-differences framework, the research design exploits variation in the timing of a community’s approval of a referendum in order to examine whether incumbent private providers adjust their speed offerings in response to the signal that public entry is more likely.

A discussion about why universal access to affordable, robust broadband is a matter of social justice and necessary for a thriving democracy. That might seem obvious to many of you—how can one fully participate in our society, our economy, our education, health care and financial systems or our democracy without a broadband connection?

One of the most questionable facts circulating in the broadband industry is that a large percentage of homes in the country have multiple internet service provider (ISP) options. A recent U.S. News and World Report states that the FCC data shows that 94 percent of homes have a choice of three or more ISPs. I’ve seen similar statistics elsewhere, and it’s not hard to see that this information comes from the latest FCC mapping data. I’m not surprised to find that the FCC maps show that 94 percent of homes in the country have three or more ISPs claiming the ability to provide service.

The variation in the affordability of internet access is the focus of the latest Internet Poverty Index (IPI) 2023, which projects the distribution of individuals who are priced out of a basic package of mobile internet and are thus living in internet poverty. Based on the latest IPI data, World Data Lab predicts that 1.05 billion people are currently living in internet poverty. Since 2015, the internet-poor population has decreased by 685 million or around 40 percent. The reduction in internet poverty has been driven by a universal

The Federal Trade Commission announced a new proposed rule to prohibit junk fees, which are hidden and bogus fees that can harm consumers and undercut honest businesses. The FTC has estimated that these fees can cost consumers tens of billions of dollars per year in unexpected costs.

Last month, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society staff, fellows, former fellows, and friends attended the 51st Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC) in Washington (DC). Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate Gigi Sohn delivered the keynote, Executive Director Adrianne Furniss awarded the

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 states sued Amazon, alleging the online retailer illegally wields monopoly power that keeps prices artificially high, locks sellers into its platform, and harms its rivals. The FTC and states alleged that Amazon violated antitrust laws by using anti-discounting measures that punished merchants for offering lower prices elsewhere.

Tachus Fiber, with help from private equity partner Crosstimbers Capital Group, is set to spend $100 million to expand its footprint in the Houston (TX) metropolitan area. The company has the aim of adding 100,000 passings in southwest Houston by the end of 2025.

AT&T filed a petition for rulemaking asking that the Federal Communications Commission establish a mid-band spectrum screen. As a broader development relating to competition policy, AT&T points to the July 2021 issuance by President Biden of an Executive Order that encouraged the FCC to consider actions to promote competition, including specifically to avoid excessive concentration of spectrum license holdings in the United States.