It’s ironic that the FCC is planning on giving the industry a failing grade again this year on broadband rollout (see Electronista article here). While the FCC points its finger at industry, the FCC has been busy adopting policies that discourage broadband deployment. Let’s take a look.
Net Neutrality: Last December, the FCC adopted net neutrality regulations (see order available here). These rules shift potential Internet revenue from service providers – the companies that actually deploy broadband infrastructure – to software companies and device manufacturers. The obvious result is to discourage investment in costly broadband infrastructure.
Incentive Auction Authority: Making more spectrum available through incentive auctions would promote significant broadband deployment. The FCC is now working toward this goal, but in 2010, the FCC made net neutrality its top priority rather than incentive auctions. Had the FCC focused on the need for more spectrum in 2010, the FCC might have obtained incentive auction authority already by striking a deal with Congressional Republicans opposed to net neutrality. Instead, the FCC is fighting with broadcasters over incentive auctions in 2011, with the election cycle looming ahead.
Universal Service: Universal service reform is one of the most important regulatory actions the FCC could take to promote broadband deployment. But, while the FCC was busy working on net neutrality regulations last year, universal service reform languished, and another opportunity to promote broadband deployment now was lost.
Roaming: The FCC found in 2007 (see order here), that mobile wireless roaming regulation discourages infrastructure-based broadband deployment if roaming is required in markets in which the requesting service provider holds spectrum licenses. In 2010, however, the FCC changed its mind (see order here), and in 2011 (see order here), it imposed new roaming requirements on broadband service providers. It’s difficult to see how allowing one provider to use another provider’s infrastructure rather than build its own network will promote more infrastructure deployment.
If broadband deployment is lagging, the FCC should point the finger at itself. The FCC needs to get back to the task of implementing policies that promote broadband deployment rather than imposing heavy handed regulation. For starters, the FCC can focus on making more spectrum available and reforming the Universal Service Fund. That would go a long way toward reversing the FCC’s troubling trend of discouraging broadband deployment.