Category Archives: Regulation

Welcoming Private Sector Efforts to Increase Broadband Adoption…

Posted on by

According to U.S. Census data, in 2017 about 78% of Americans accessed the Internet at home over a fixed, terrestrial connection.  Like most goods and services, adoption rises sharply with income.  Only about 60% of households with annual incomes less than $30,000 have fixed broadband at home compared to 82% of homes with higher incomes.  Overseas, many developing nations have extremely low Internet adoption rates.  While much of our domestic policy discussion focuses on a lack of availability in more rural areas, the lack of adoption is as big a contributor, if not a bigger one, to the Digital Divide.  Continue Reading »

In Response to Criticisms of Phoenix Center Research on Net Neutrality…

Posted on by

Quantifying the effect on economic outcomes of the Federal Communications Commission’s (“FCC”) regulations is vital for good policymaking.  Recently, the Commission initiated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which it is contemplating rolling back the Obama Administration’s controversial 2015 decision to reclassify broadband Internet access as a common carrier “telecommunications” service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934.  To aid the Agency with its review of its 2015 Open Internet Order, I  authored a number of empirical studies examining the effect of Net Neutrality regulation on investment, employment, and broadband speeds, including both original research and commentary on Continue Reading »

Second Circuit Debunks FCC’s Set-Top Box Arguments

Posted on by

Last February, the FCC launched yet another attempt to excise itself from (in the immortal words of former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell) the “Valley of Unattained Goals” of Section 629.  To justify its aggressive regulatory intervention, the Commission argued that (1) there is a separate market for set-top boxes over which MVPDs allegedly exercise market power; and, as such, (2) the rates consumers pay to rent set-top boxes, to put it colloquially, are “too damn high.” While such arguments make for great populist fodder, the problem is that the Commission’s foundational arguments underlying their set-top box proposal simply are not Continue Reading »

Some Preliminary Thoughts On Dr. Rysman’s Special Access Empirical Analysis…

Posted on by

As part of the Federal Communication Commission’s Tariff Investigation Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Special Access Services, the Agency included as Appendix B a commissioned empirical study by Dr. Marc Rysman of Boston University.  While there’s a lot to say about Dr. Rysman’s analysis, because it just came out two days ago I want to take the time to make sure I fully understand Dr. Rysman’s technique and modeling choices before passing judgement.  That said, while I won’t provide a thorough analysis of Dr. Rysman’s econometric analysis in this blog, there are some glaring items that are Continue Reading »

2014 Year in Review…

Posted on by

2014 provided fertile soil for those interested in policy research. So with New Years rapidly approaching, I want to uphold tradition and use our last blog post of the year to highlight what we at the Phoenix Center thought to be the most interesting policy issues of 2014 and to provide some select examples of where we believed we added constructively to the debate. Spectrum Availability and Allocation While spectrum policy is always complex, the debate again boiled down to the fundamental questions: how do we free up more spectrum; and once we do, how do we allocate it? For Continue Reading »

Will the Virtuous Circle be Unbroken?

Posted on by

Regardless of whether the Federal Communications Commission ultimately reclassifies broadband termination as a Title II telecommunications service or not, the agency will likely justify its efforts to regulate broadband service based on its mandate in Section 706 to “encourage the deployment on a reasonable and timely basis of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans” using “measures that promote competition [and] remove barriers to infrastructure investment.”  Indeed, at the center of the agency’s net neutrality argument is the theory of a “virtuous circle,” whereby innovation and investment at the edge of the network increases the demand for advanced telecommunications capability” and Continue Reading »

In Response to Mark Cooper…

Posted on by

Last December, I authored a blog entitled Price, Profit, and Efficiency: Mark Cooper’s Bungled Analysis.  Using basic economics, my blog describes in detail why a report authored by Mark Cooper from the Consumer Federation of America (“CFA”) entitled Comparing Apples to Apples:  How Competitive Provider Services Outpace the Baby Bell Duopoly — Municipal Wireline and Non-Baby Bell Wireless Service Providers Deliver Products that are More Consumer-Friendly reached a conclusion that was not supported by economic theory.  Mark’s argument was that AT&T and Verizon charge higher prices and earn higher profits than do Sprint and T-Mobile and that such an outcome Continue Reading »

A Troubling New Legal Standard for Section 706…

Posted on by

Last week, the D.C. Circuit in Verizon v. FCC issued its much-anticipated ruling on the Federal Communications Commission’s Open Internet Order.  In this decision, the court found that because the FCC had determined that broadband is not being deployed on a reasonable and timely basis to all Americans, Section 706 of the 1996 Telecommunications Act vests the agency “with affirmative authority to enact measures encouraging the deployment of broadband infrastructure” and, by extension, the power “to promulgate rules governing broadband providers’ treatment of Internet traffic.” (Slip Op. at 4.)  While the court remanded both the “no blocking” and “non-discrimination” portions Continue Reading »

Price, Profit, and Efficiency: Mark Cooper’s Bungled Analysis

Posted on by

Last month, I was generously invited to join a panel put together by the New America Foundation (“NAF”) at a Capitol Hill event entitled Spectrum Auctions: Promoting More Mobile Market Competition . . . or Less?  (For those interested, video of my panel is available here.)  It was an honor to participate, and kudos to Michael Calabrese from NAF for putting together a great event.  On the panel, I was joined by Mark Cooper (Consumer Federation of America), Fred Campbell (Competitive Enterprise Institute), and Peter Cramton (professor at the University of Maryland).  I found the discussion interesting, informative, and mostly Continue Reading »