Showing archive for: “FCC”
The FCC Is Right To Keep Every Band on the Table for Direct-to-Device
Note: Our editor is on vacation. The image for this post and any errors in the body are solely the fault of the author. At its August 6 open meeting, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is scheduled to vote on a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Unleashing Unlicensed Spectrum for Direct-to-Device.” This proceeding will ... The FCC Is Right To Keep Every Band on the Table for Direct-to-Device
The AI Boom Still Runs on Old-Fashioned Airwaves
AI may live in the cloud, but the cloud still needs roads. Those roads are communications networks—and the airwaves they depend on may determine how far and fast the AI boom can travel. That two-way relationship will take center stage tomorrow, when the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media holds a hearing titled ... The AI Boom Still Runs on Old-Fashioned Airwaves
The State That Wouldn’t Hang Up: California’s Fight to Keep the Old Phone Network Alive
In 1877, Thomas Doolittle strung the first hard-drawn copper telephone wire in Ansonia, Connecticut, replacing the iron lines that had carried Alexander Graham Bell’s earliest calls. Nearly 150 years later, most of the country is finally retiring the last copper in its telephone networks, replacing it with fiber-optic cable and wireless connectivity. California, naturally, has ... The State That Wouldn’t Hang Up: California’s Fight to Keep the Old Phone Network Alive
The Roswell Loophole: How to Stop Wireless Deployment One Permit at a Time
A city does not need to hang a “no cell towers allowed” sign to keep wireless service out. It can get there the quieter way: deny one permit, then another, each for reasons that sound local, particular, and perfectly ordinary. The question at the heart of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is whether federal law ... The Roswell Loophole: How to Stop Wireless Deployment One Permit at a Time
Government by Raised Eyebrow: The JAWBONE Act and the Problem of Censorship by Proxy
The easiest way for the government to censor speech is not always to ban it. Sometimes, it is to find someone else with a hand on the switch. That is the problem at the center of the current debate over free speech in the digital age. For years, the public argument focused on whether private ... Government by Raised Eyebrow: The JAWBONE Act and the Problem of Censorship by Proxy
Speech, Section 5, and Some Curious Scribbling: A First Amendment Story
The line between regulating conduct and regulating speech can be thin—and sometimes, suspiciously convenient. Last week, my International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE) colleagues Ben Sperry and Jeff Westling published a post here at Truth on the Market titled “The FCC’s Sleeping Power over the Press.” It’s not about antitrust, but it’s well worth ... Speech, Section 5, and Some Curious Scribbling: A First Amendment Story
Subsidizing Obsolescence: How FCC Rules Keep Copper Alive
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is close to finishing a long-running transition away from legacy telecom regulation—but outdated rules still pay carriers to stay in the past. Last month, the FCC adopted a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to eliminate payments to legacy telecommunications carriers that have not upgraded to networks based on internet protocols ... Subsidizing Obsolescence: How FCC Rules Keep Copper Alive
The FCC’s Sleeping Power Over the Press
The Trump administration says it wants to end federal censorship. Its recent statements suggest something else. In the executive order “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship,” the White House asserted: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, an amendment essential to the success of our Republic, enshrines the right of the American ... The FCC’s Sleeping Power Over the Press
‘Regulation and Its Reform’ by Stephen Breyer and ‘Contrived Competition’ by Richard Vietor
Stephen Breyer’s “Regulation and Its Reform” (1982) and Richard H.K. Vietor’s “Contrived Competition: Regulation and Deregulation in America” (1994) both address a central problem in American economic policy: when does government intervention improve market outcomes, and when does it create the very problems it seeks to solve? Breyer, then a judge of the 1st U.S. ... ‘Regulation and Its Reform’ by Stephen Breyer and ‘Contrived Competition’ by Richard Vietor
Kimmel, Coercion, and the Public Interest Standard: The Problem of Boundless Government Power
Talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension by ABC following pushback from affiliate stations about comments he made Sept. 15 about the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk has been major news. The timing of the decisions by affiliate groups Nexstar and Sinclair to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live! from their programming schedule was noteworthy, in that both came ... Kimmel, Coercion, and the Public Interest Standard: The Problem of Boundless Government Power
Charter/Cox Merger Review and the Rule of Law
Charter Communications Inc. and Cox Communications Inc.—both providers of cable and broadband—are seeking approval of their proposed merger from the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). While the prior administration’s enforcement agencies—who often relied on static market-share snapshots to pursue antitrust claims and failed to consider broader market dynamics—might have sued to block this ... Charter/Cox Merger Review and the Rule of Law
Simington’s Video-Competition Proposal Would Double Down on an Outdated Framework
Commissioner Nathan Simington of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently penned an op-ed (together with Gavin Wax, his chief of staff) highlighting a fundamental problem in America’s media landscape: traditional broadcasters operate under strict regulatory constraints, while streaming platforms enjoy virtually unlimited freedom. Their solution? Expand FCC oversight to include streaming services as “multichannel video ... Simington’s Video-Competition Proposal Would Double Down on an Outdated Framework
