The FCC espouses transparency and data driven decisions. So what happened in the SkyTerra transaction order released last Friday? A trio of Bureaus/Offices (collectively, the Bureaus) approved a transaction with no real analysis of significant, novel conditions. Without analysis, it is hard to say that these ostensibly “voluntary” conditions were transparent or data driven. Either way, they constitute an entirely new approach to the wireless market. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for March, 2010
First Reaction to the National Broadband Plan
The FCC released its National Broadband Plan today. Given the scope and breadth of this unprecedented plan, it would be impossible to cover it all in a single post. For now, I discuss only my initial reaction.
The broadband team should be commended for its hard work in putting the plan together. I can’t help being impressed by the extensive data and vast number of recommendations made in the plan. It appears to be comprehensive in its scope and ambitious in its agenda. Read the rest of this entry »
FCC Releases Executive Summary to National Broadband Plan
In a news release issued today, the FCC said it will deliver its National Broadband Plan to Congress tomorrow. However, for those who can’t wait, the FCC has already made public the executive summary of the plan. Stay tuned for my initial reaction, which I hope to post sometime tomorrow afternoon.
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broadband
Surprise! Consumers Don’t Want to Purchase the Nexus One at Full Price
Consumer groups in Washington have long decried the wireless industry practice of offering consumers subsidized handsets in exchange for term contracts subject to early termination fees. These consumer groups believe that consumers would be better off paying full price for handsets without an early termination fee. But how do consumers really feel about this issue when they are given a chance to vote with their wallets? It turns out they opt for subsidized handsets with early termination fees. Read the rest of this entry »
An Analysis of the FCC’s Proposed Net Neutrality Rules: Why Reasonableness Wasn’t Included
“Dangerous and disturbing this puzzle is. Only a Jedi could have erased those files. But who, and why, harder to answer.” Yoda, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002).
In an earlier post, I wrote that the FCC lacks jurisdiction to enact net neutrality rules without allowing carriers latitude to make reasonable distinctions and discriminations in the provision of services. In this post I’m including my suspicions as to why the FCC has erased a general notion of reasonableness from its proposed net neutrality rules. I suspect that the FCC is proceeding this way to avoid the holding in Orloff v. FCC, 352 F.3d 415 (DC Cir. 2003). Read the rest of this entry »