Sloshing Around with the ‘Waterbed Effect’
If you spend a lot of time in the world of competition policy—or any time at all on the announced Kroger/Albertsons merger—you will eventually stumble on the unfortunately named and greatly misunderstood “waterbed effect.” In a congressional hearing regarding the merger, this purported effect was mentioned at least a half-dozen times. If you were born ... Sloshing Around with the ‘Waterbed Effect’
ACP Spends More Money While Running Out of Money; BEAD Rules Run Amok
If this is what a summer slowdown looks like in telecom policy world, then autumn is going to be a real humdinger. FCC Announces More Spending for ACP Outreach Last week, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced government agencies and nonprofits in 11 states and territories will receive an additional $4.3 million to promote the ... ACP Spends More Money While Running Out of Money; BEAD Rules Run Amok
Red Tape and Headaches Plague BEAD Rollout
While the dog days of August have sent many people to the pool to cool off, the Telecom Hootenanny dance floor is heating up. We’ve got hiccups in BEAD deployment, a former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) member urging the agency to free-up 12 GHz spectrum for fixed wireless, and another former FCC commissioner urging a ... Red Tape and Headaches Plague BEAD Rollout
Will the USF Survive the 5th Circuit?
The Telecom Hootenanny is back from a little summer break. As they say on AM radio: “If you miss a little, you miss a lot.” So rather than trying to catch up, let’s focus on some of the latest news from the telecom dancefloor. For this edition of the Hootenanny: we’ve got a big-time challenge ... Will the USF Survive the 5th Circuit?
While Congress Delays, the Task Force Will Play
With the first day of summer less than a week away and political silly season just around the corner, we don’t have much time for hootenannies. Congress needs to channel the wisdom of Jerry Reed, who noted: “We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there.” In early March, Congress ... While Congress Delays, the Task Force Will Play
Oregon Should Beware the Right to Repair
The Oregon State Legislature is considering HB 3631, a bill that would ensure that consumers have a “right to repair” their electronics devices. The legislation would require that manufacturers provide consumers and independent repair shops access to relevant repair information, as well to make available any parts or tools necessary to carry out the repair. ... Oregon Should Beware the Right to Repair
Two FCC Commissioners Walk Into a Bar
Former FCC Commissioners Have Some Thoughts Writing with Kirk Arner in RealClearMarkets, Harold Furchtgott-Roth—formerly of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)—comments on the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act, recently passed out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Arner and Furchtgott-Roth note that reauthorizing spectrum auctions is a “good and necessary idea,” but take issue with the “$23 billion Ponzi ... Two FCC Commissioners Walk Into a Bar
Antitrust Regulators Should Be Careful Not to Shank the PGA-LIV Deal
In a world in which so-called “Big Tech” has dominated antitrust discussions for a decade or more, who would’ve guessed that golf would grab the biggest headlines? The proposed merger of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf has some major headline-grabbing potential: sports, big money, big names, 9/11, human-rights abuses, and cringeworthy public-relations attempts. Aside ... Antitrust Regulators Should Be Careful Not to Shank the PGA-LIV Deal
To Infinity and Beyond: The New Broadband Map Has Landed!
Announced with the sort of breathless press release one might expect for the launch of a new product like Waystar Royco’s Living+, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has gone into full-blown spin mode over its latest broadband map. This is, to be clear, the map that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will use ... To Infinity and Beyond: The New Broadband Map Has Landed!
Whatcha Gonna Do When the Well Runs Dry?
As the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations convenes this morning for a hearing on overseeing federal funds for broadband deployment, it bears mention that one of the largest U.S. broadband-subsidy programs is actually likely run out of money within the next year. Writing in Forbes, Roslyn Layton observes of the Affordable Connectivity Program ... Whatcha Gonna Do When the Well Runs Dry?
What Transmission Markets Can Learn from the FCC’s Pole-Attachment Problem
Large portions of the country are expected to face a growing threat of widespread electricity blackouts in the coming years. For example, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council—the regional entity charged with overseeing the Western Interconnection grid that covers most of the Western United States and Canada—estimates that the subregion consisting of Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and ... What Transmission Markets Can Learn from the FCC’s Pole-Attachment Problem
AG Paxton’s Google Suit Makes the Perfect the Enemy of the Good
Having just comfortably secured re-election to a third term, embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is likely to want to change the subject from investigations of his own conduct to a topic where he feels on much firmer ground: the 16-state lawsuit he currently leads accusing Google of monopolizing a segment of the digital advertising ... AG Paxton’s Google Suit Makes the Perfect the Enemy of the Good
