Thoughts About Today’s Oversight Hearing on the FCC’s Budget and Spending…

February 16th, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in "Cost Per Regulator" | Federal Budget | Federal Communications Commission | Federal Deficit | Jobs | Regulation | Regulatory Reform - (1 Comments)

Earlier today, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing on entitled “The Budget and Spending of the Federal Communications Commission.”  Given the growing size of the federal bureaucracy, conducting this sort of oversight is indeed welcome news. In his opening statement, Committee Chairman Greg Walden noted that “Last year, the FCC was given a budget of $424.8 million, and the FCC has reported that it can maintain current services with a budget of $421.2 million.  Although that’s less than a one percent decrease, it’s a start, and I appreciate the work of the FCC to … Read more →

I Can “C” (Block) Clearly Now About Spectrum Auctions…

February 15th, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Mobile Broadband | Net Neutrality | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (Comments Off)

The FCC, in its National Broadband Plan, concluded that U.S. commercial mobile carriers desperately need more spectrum, describing an industry operating with “just a fraction of the amount that will be necessary to match growing demand.”  Echoing the concern, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski cautioned that “without action, demand for spectrum will soon outstrip supply. … If we don’t tackle the spectrum crunch now, network congestion will grow, and consumer frustration will grow with it.” In response, Congress is working on a partial solution to the impending shortfall, including authorizing the FCC to conduct an auction in which broadcasters voluntarily transfer their spectrum to broadband service … Read more →

Wireless Competition Under Spectrum Exhaust (CliffsNotes Edition)…

February 8th, 2012 | Posted by George Ford in Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (1 Comments)

As noted in our earlier blog posts, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski seems to be of two minds when it comes to spectrum policy.  On one hand, he has taken great pains throughout his tenure to warn about the crucial issue of spectrum exhaust for commercial spectrum.  As also noted in our earlier blog posts, the FCC under Chairman Genachowski has at the same time expressed grave concerns about the concentrated nature of the U.S. wireless market in its CMRS Reports and, as such, has condemned large transactions such as AT&T/T-Mobile and imposed a de facto spectrum cap when it approved the creation of the company … Read more →

The Effect of Spectrum Exhaust on Mobile Market Structure and Performance…

February 2nd, 2012 | Posted by George Ford in Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Law and Economics | Mobile Broadband | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (Comments Off)

In an effort to address the current spectrum crunch for commercial spectrum, Congress is working on legislation to empower the FCC to hold voluntary incentive auctions to facilitate the transfer spectrum from broadcasters to mobile carriers.  FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, among others, are complaining loudly that the House version of the bill unduly constricts the FCC’s ability to manipulate the mobile industry by excluding some bidders from the auction (primarily the nation’s two most successful wireless firms that a little more than half of all Americans have chosen as their wireless carrier).  As Larry explained in a post dated January 17 and again in a … Read more →

Data Roaming, Spectrum Auctions, and the Widening of the Broadband Credibility Gap…

January 31st, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Broadband Credibility Gap | Data Roaming | Federal Communications Commission | Incentive Auctions | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Net Neutrality | Regulation | Regulatory Reform | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (2 Comments)

As I noted in my January 17th blog post, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski is complaining loudly that the bill now pending before the House Energy & Commerce Committee would unduly constrict the agency’s ability to condition any voluntary incentive auction for much-needed beachfront broadcast spectrum.  Recently, former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt came to his protégé’s defense, noting that: no one will benefit if Congress insists on telling the FCC—as the House bill does—who is eligible to bid or how the auction should be conducted. To have an efficient, fair, unpoliticized, neutral, pro-market auction the FCC should continue to be an auctioneer that is above political … Read more →

What is the Effect of the Mobile Internet on the Economy?

January 27th, 2012 | Posted by George Ford in Employment | Incentive Auctions | Jobs | Mobile Broadband | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust - (1 Comments)

What is the effect of the mobile Internet on the economy?  This question is an important one, and one that has drawn significant attention by researchers, policymakers, and even the President.  What makes answers to this question difficult to come by is that while the Internet may influence things like income, education, depression, and so forth, Internet use may in turn be influenced by income, education, depression, and so forth.  Establishing the causal direction of the relationship, and its magnitude, can be challenging. Due to the present economic woes, the effect of the Internet on job creation is an empirical question of substantial importance.   The … Read more →

Obama, Regulation, and the State of the Union…

January 27th, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Law and Economics | Regulation | Regulatory Reform - (Comments Off)

At the State of the Union earlier this week, President Obama repeated his professed goal implementing meaningful regulatory reform.  For example, while the President noted that “we need smart regulations to prevent irresponsible behavior”, the President also again recognized that “[t]here is no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary, or too costly.” To support his “walking the walk” about meaningful regulatory reform, the President boasted that “I’ve approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his.”  Mr. Obama also boasted that “I’ve ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don’t make sense. We’ve already … Read more →

Why GigaOM has it Wrong on the Comcast/Verizon Spectrum Deal…

January 24th, 2012 | Posted by Larry Spiwak in Federal Communications Commission | Incumbent Exclusion Rules | Industry Structure and Market Performance | Law and Economics | Regulation | Spectrum | Spectrum Exhaust | Wireless - (2 Comments)

This past Sunday, Kevin Fitchard wrote a piece in GigaOm entitled If Comcast Can’t Make It in the Wireless Biz, Who Can?  In this piece, Mr. Fitchard laments that Comcast’s decision to sell its AWS spectrum to, and enter into a joint marketing agreement with, Verizon, rather than construct their own 4G network, “raises some troubling questions about the state of the U.S. wireless industry.”  According to Mr. Fitchard, “if a company with a $71 billion market cap and deep roots in the telecom service provider business can’t make a go of the wireless business, what hope is there for any newcomer?”  Mr. Fitchard asks … Read more →

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