Showing archive for: “FCC”
The Charter-Cox Merger Should Sail Through, But Will It?
Charter Communications Inc. and Cox Communications Inc. have announced a plan to merge in a $34.5 billion deal. The transaction would create the nation’s largest cable operator, surpassing Comcast, with approximately 38 million subscribers across 46 states. Predictably, the proposal triggered concerns about cable-industry consolidation. Yet the reflexive anxiety about “big cable getting bigger” misses ... The Charter-Cox Merger Should Sail Through, But Will It?
ICLE’s Comments, Comments, Comments Re: Delete, Delete, Delete
For too long, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has operated under a regulatory framework rooted in the Communications Act of 1934, written in an era when rotary phones and radio broadcasts dominated. This simply doesn’t cut it in 2025. The communications world of today bears little resemblance to that of 1994, much less 1934. The ... ICLE’s Comments, Comments, Comments Re: Delete, Delete, Delete
Digital Platforms Aren’t Telecoms and Their Regulations Shouldn’t Rhyme
Modern tech markets share several key economic characteristics with the telecommunications markets of the recent past, a new working paper from Georgetown Law’s Jonathan Nuechterlein and Howard Shelanski argues. And while telecom regulators have over the years sought to address these key issues of network effects, economies of scale, and switching costs through various interventions, ... Digital Platforms Aren’t Telecoms and Their Regulations Shouldn’t Rhyme
Media-Ownership Regulations in a Streaming World: Time to Change the Channel
Today’s media landscape bears little resemblance to the one that existed when most existing broadcast and cable regulations were created. While consumers increasingly access video content through streaming platforms subject to minimal oversight, legacy media providers continue to operate under restrictive regulatory frameworks designed for a bygone era. This regulatory asymmetry creates economic inefficiencies and ... Media-Ownership Regulations in a Streaming World: Time to Change the Channel
Accountability Comes to the Independent Agencies
President Donald Trump took a significant step forward in consolidating his administration’s control over executive-branch policy by issuing a Feb. 18 executive order titled “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies.” The accountability order extends direct presidential oversight beyond the “core” executive-branch departments to federal “independent agencies,” including multi-member commissions, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission ... Accountability Comes to the Independent Agencies
Video Competition in 2025: It’s Literally on Heebee
If you’re of a certain age, you remember the old days of watching TV. Over the antenna, you could get the three major networks, PBS and, in larger markets, perhaps some independent channels—some of which would begin airing programming from the new Fox network in 1986. If you made enough money, you could get a ... Video Competition in 2025: It’s Literally on Heebee
Supreme Court Decisions and Regulatory Reform
Three 2024 U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued in 2024 may over time substantially constrain federal agencies’ regulatory authority. The incoming Trump administration may wish to rely on those holdings in implementing its regulatory-reform strategy. Background In 2024, the Supreme Court rendered three decisions that could have major implications in limiting the scope of federal regulatory ... Supreme Court Decisions and Regulatory Reform
Net Neutrality Rule Goes Down, Other Regs May Follow
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Jan. 2 struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) so-called “net neutrality rule” that regulates internet broadband services. If not overturned, this holding will have major implications not just for the provision of those services, but for other intrusive regulatory schemes as well. The decision may be ... Net Neutrality Rule Goes Down, Other Regs May Follow
Title I for All: Time to Modernize America’s Outdated Telecommunications Rules
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision striking down the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) latest net-neutrality rules did more than just settle a decades-long debate about broadband regulation; it also exposed a fundamental flaw in the United States’ approach to communications policy. In a nutshell, the issue is that we treat traditional telephone ... Title I for All: Time to Modernize America’s Outdated Telecommunications Rules
Forced Sharing: Stepping Stones or Stumbling Blocks?
Recent headlines about the U.S. Justice Department’s (DOJ) antitrust case targeting Google Search echo a familiar policy script. In a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, Thomas Lenard and Scott Wallsten warn that forcing Google to share its technology could undermine innovation—a lesson they say we should have learned from telecommunications policy decades ago. In 1996, ... Forced Sharing: Stepping Stones or Stumbling Blocks?
What Project 2025 Can Tell Us About Brendan Carr’s FCC Priorities
My high-school-aged son came home from school the day after Election Day in distress. His history teacher spent the entire class listing the Parade of Horribles in Project 2025 and its dire consequences for the United States. I asked my son, “Project 2025 is more than 900 pages. Do you think your teacher read it?” ... What Project 2025 Can Tell Us About Brendan Carr’s FCC Priorities
FCC’s New Satellite Rules: Sharing Is Caring
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in September, SpaceX provided a masterclass in public relations by handing out thousands of Starlink satellite-broadband kits, waiving monthly fees, and enabling emergency alerts over cellular networks in affected areas. Not only did the effort generate significant goodwill for the company, but it also demonstrated that satellite technology can ... FCC’s New Satellite Rules: Sharing Is Caring
