According to a just-released report by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) entitled The Whole Picture: Where America’s Broadband Networks Really Stand, “Despite the frequent claims that the United States lags in international broadband comparisons, the studies cited to support this claim are out-of-date, poorly-focused, and/or analytically deficient.” We couldn’t agree more, and extend our kudos to Richard Bennett, Luke Steward, and Rob Atkinson for a thorough and dispassionate analysis of broadband deployment and adoption across developed economies. Indeed, I suspect ITIF’s report will become the ”go to” document of the most current basic statistics on where the U.S. falls in international broadband comparisons. …
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The Misuse of International Broadband Rankings Continues…
February 19th, 2013 | Posted by in Broadband | Federal Communications Commission | International Broadband Ranks | International Telecommunication Union (ITU) | OECD | Regulation | Susan Crawford - (Comments Off)Sloppy Research Sinks Susan Crawford’s Book…
January 18th, 2013 | Posted by in Broadband | Cable | Federal Communications Commission | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Investment | Law and Economics | National Broadband Plan | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Susan Crawford - (3 Comments)This month, Cardozo Law School Professor and former Special Assistant for Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy to President Barack Obama Susan Crawford released her new book entitled Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age. Professor Crawford is known as a tireless and vocal advocate for government intervention in and the regulation of telecommunications, and is perhaps the most recognized advocate for the construction of a government-funded and regulated fiber-optic Internet network servicing all American homes and businesses. Many vigorously oppose Professor Crawford’s ideas by claiming they are overly regulatory and too expensive, but many support her proposals with equal …
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Professor Susan Crawford and the Looming “Cable Monopoly”…
November 16th, 2012 | Posted by in "Over the Top" Services | AllVid | Broadband | Broadband Credibility Gap | Cable | CableCard | Federal Communications Commission | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Investment | IP Transition | Law and Economics | MVPDs | National Broadband Plan | Net Neutrality | Regulation | Susan Crawford - (Comments Off)Next month, a new book entitled Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age (Yale University Press 2012) from Cardozo Law School Professor Susan Crawford will hit the bookshelves. According to her publisher’s blurb, Professor Crawford’s book will examine how the United States has “created the biggest monopoly since the breakup of Standard Oil a century ago.” But what is this “monopoly” to which Professor Crawford refers? While the publisher’s promotional blurb is silent on this question, according to a 2010 paper authored by Professor Crawford in the Yale Law and Policy Review, it appears that she is talking about …
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Susan Crawford and the Economics of the Wireless Industry…
August 10th, 2012 | Posted by in "Over the Top" Services | Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Law and Economics | Mobile Broadband | Net Neutrality | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Caps | Spectrum Exhaust | Susan Crawford | Wireless - (Comments Off)Last week, Professor Susan Crawford authored an op-ed entitled What’s Good for Verizon and AT&T Is Terrible for American Consumers. While Professor Crawford’s emotional argument is a bit scattered, her depiction of an industry in transition provides a useful foundation for discussing the future of broadband in the United States. First, Professor Crawford argues that wireless broadband is a “commodity,” and one that consumers are increasingly using as a substitute for traditional “voice” and “texting” services. This substitution is arguably true and, as such, we should therefore expect to see broadband providers increasingly employing and experimenting with a variety of pricing plans in an effort …
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