A Quick Assessment of the FCC’s Appalling Staff Report on the AT&T Merger
As everyone knows by now, AT&T’s proposed merger with T-Mobile has hit a bureaucratic snag at the FCC. The remarkable decision to refer the merger to the Commission’s Administrative Law Judge (in an effort to derail the deal) and the public release of the FCC staff’s internal, draft report are problematic and poorly considered. But ... A Quick Assessment of the FCC’s Appalling Staff Report on the AT&T Merger
Introducing Guest Blogger Hal Singer
We’re delighted to be joined for the next couple of weeks by guest blogger, Hal Singer. Hal is Managing Director and Principal at Navigant Economics. He has written, thought and advised extensively on antitrust, finance and general regulatory issues. His SSRN page is here, and it includes co-authors like David Teece, Dan Rubinfeld, Jerry Hausman, Greg Sidak, Bob ... Introducing Guest Blogger Hal Singer
ABA Roundtable Discussion Tomorrow on the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
As I have posted before, I was disappointed that the DOJ filed against AT&T in its bid to acquire T-Mobile. The efficacious provision of mobile broadband service is a complicated business, but it has become even more so by government’s meddling. Responses like this merger are both inevitable and essential. And Sprint and Cellular South piling on doesn’t help ... ABA Roundtable Discussion Tomorrow on the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
The Spectrum Argument Lives, Debunking Letter-Gate, and Why the DOJ Is Still Wrong to Try to Stop the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
[Cross-posted at Tech Liberation Front] Milton Mueller responded to my post Wednesday on the DOJ’s decision to halt the AT&T/T-Mobile merger by asserting that there was no evidence the merger would lead to “anything innovative and progressive” and claiming “[t]he spectrum argument fell apart months ago, as factual inquiries revealed that AT&T had more spectrum than Verizon and the ... The Spectrum Argument Lives, Debunking Letter-Gate, and Why the DOJ Is Still Wrong to Try to Stop the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger
A couple of quick thoughts on the DOJ’s filing to block AT&T/T-Mobile
As Josh noted, the DOJ filed a complaint today to block the merger. I’m sure we’ll have much, much more to say on the topic, but here are a few things that jump out at me from perusing the complaint: The DOJ distinguishes between the business (“Enterprise”) market and the consumer market. This is actually ... A couple of quick thoughts on the DOJ’s filing to block AT&T/T-Mobile
Epstein, Kieff & Spulber Eviscerate the FTC’s Proposal on Regulating SSOs
In a thorough and convincing paper, “The FTC’s Proposal for Regulating IP through SSOs Would Replace Private Coordination with Government Hold-Up,” Richard Epstein, Scott Kieff and Dan Spulber assess and then decimate the FTC’s proposal on patent notice and remedies, “The Evolving IP Marketplace: Aligning Patent Notice and Remedies with Competition.” Note Epstein, Kieff and ... Epstein, Kieff & Spulber Eviscerate the FTC’s Proposal on Regulating SSOs
FairSearch’s Non-Sequitur Response
Our search neutrality paper has received some recent attention. While the initial response from Gordon Crovitz in the Wall Street Journal was favorable, critics are now voicing their responses. Although we appreciate FairSearch’s attempt to engage with our paper’s central claims, its response is really little more than an extended non-sequitur and fails to contribute ... FairSearch’s Non-Sequitur Response
Josh and I make the big leagues
Cited today by Gordon Crovitz in the Wall Street Journal: Instead of letting consumers choose, other search companies including Microsoft are funding FairSearch.org to lobby regulators and politicians to stop what it calls “Google’s march toward an ‘unregulatable monopoly.'” Legal academics Geoffrey Manne and Joshua Wright wrote a recent article entitled “If Search Neutrality is ... Josh and I make the big leagues
FCC Competition Report is one green light for AT&T-T-Mobile deal
BY LARRY DOWNES AND GEOFFREY A. MANNE The FCC published in June its annual report on the state of competition in the mobile services marketplace. Under ordinary circumstances, this 300-plus page tome would sit quietly on the shelf, since, like last year’s report, it ‘‘makes no formal finding as to whether there is, or is ... FCC Competition Report is one green light for AT&T-T-Mobile deal
First Microsoft, Now Google: Berin Szoka, Josh Wright and Geoff Manne in CNET
Josh, Berin Szoka and I have a new op-ed up at CNET on why the lessons of Microsoft suggest the FTC’s action against Google might be misguided. A taste: Ten years ago this week, an appeals court upheld Microsoft’s conviction for monopolizing the PC operating system market. The decision became a key legal precedent for U.S. antitrust ... First Microsoft, Now Google: Berin Szoka, Josh Wright and Geoff Manne in CNET
The FTC Makes its Google Investigation Official, Now What?
No surprise here. The WSJ announced it was coming yesterday, and today Google publicly acknowledged that it has received subpoenas related to the Commission’s investigation. Amit Singhal of Google acknowledged the FTC subpoenas at the Google Public Policy Blog: At Google, we’ve always focused on putting the user first. We aim to provide relevant answers ... The FTC Makes its Google Investigation Official, Now What?
What’s really motivating the pursuit of Google?
I have an op-ed up at Main Justice on FTC Chairman Leibowitz’ recent comment in response the a question about the FTC’s investigation of Google that the FTC is looking for a “pure Section Five case.” With Main Justice’s permission, the op-ed is re-printed here: There’s been a lot of chatter around Washington about ... What’s really motivating the pursuit of Google?
