Competition/Antitrust

In 2012, California decided to deregulate the broadband internet industry until 2020 with the aim of encouraging greater consumer choice, economic growth and innovation. Eight years later, these benefits have not materialized. Instead internet providers have taken advantage of deregulation to increase prices and evade oversight. Now internet providers are pushing Assembly Bill 1366, which would extend this disastrous policy for another decade.

There is a growing divide in Internet quality of service (QoS) between developed and developing countries. With a panel data of 160 countries for the years 2008-2016, we examined whether the adoption of more pro-competition regulation can narrow this quality divide. Internet quality of service, measured as average connection speed, increased by three times greater in developed compared to developing countries during the period studied. We found that a unit increase in the pro-competition score increased the average connection speed in developed but not in developing countries.

The Federal Communications Commission is taking steps to improve broadband deployment and competition in the nation’s apartment buildings, condominium complexes, and office buildings, known as multiple tenant environments (MTEs). For decades, Congress and the FCC have encouraged facilities-based competition by broadly promoting access to customers and infrastructure— including MTEs and their tenants—while avoiding overly burdensome sharing mandates that reduce incentives to invest. Consistent with these principles, the FCC today takes three specific steps to promote facilities-based broadba

Using individual-level Census data this report analyzes the differences in fixed terrestrial broadband subscription rates across occupants of Multi-Tenant Environments (MTEs) and non-MTEs. We find that residential occupants of MTEs are on average slightly less likely to obtain a wireline broadband subscription than residential occupants of non-MTEs.

A few years ago, Tuttle (OK) suddenly found itself without cable or internet service after a local broadband provider went bankrupt, leaving behind unpaid bills to the power company. Like the majority of cities in the US, Tuttle residents accessed broadband through private companies rather than through a city-run system. With the town of a few thousand growing quickly and attracting professionals from nearby Oklahoma City who were used to high-speed internet, Tuttle city officials began meeting with new private telecommunications companies to fill the gap.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has spoken out against the Federal Communications Commission’s attempt to overrule a provision of a city ordinance. In a letter sent on July 2 to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Breed wrote that the FCC’s proposal to preempt part of a city law that prevents landlords of multi-unit buildings from blocking tenants from accessing the internet service provider of their choice would hurt residents by reducing competition for communications services.

On June 26, the US House of Representatives passed the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act (H.R. 3351) -- an appropriations bill that provides fiscal year 2020 funding for a variety of departments and independent agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission. The massive bill passed with many amendments.

SpaceX's goal is to sell broadband internet service delivered by more than 1,000 small satellites. But industry experts say the company’s biggest challenge is financial. SpaceX must drive down the cost of sophisticated hardware and software to the point where it can deliver fast, reliable internet service at a price point that competes with cable or fiber-delivered broadband services, while finding enough underserved markets to provide scale.

The House has passed an omnibus appropriations bill, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, and it funds the Federal Communications Commission. But it will almost certainly need major tweaking if Senate Republicans are expected to approve it, partially due to three amendments related to FCC policy.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on whether to preempt a San Francisco city ordinance that was designed to promote broadband competition in multi-unit buildings. San Francisco's Article 52, approved in December 2016, lets Internet service providers use the existing wiring inside multi-unit residential and commercial properties even if the wiri