So where is the Obama Administration alternative to SOPA?
The Wall Street Journal reported last Saturday about President Obama’s discomfort with the Stop Online Piracy Act. Seems even if it passes Congress, Mr. Obama will veto it. Is the Obama Administration...
View ArticleRegulators aren’t good at increasing social welfare
Hal Singer in his blog post, “Divining a Regulator’s Intent“, could not have said it better. “The singular objective that should drive the Commission in all matters wireless is getting spectrum into...
View ArticleI don’t mind Wikipedia’s self-imposed blackout
Wikipedia’s self-imposed blackout over the Stop Online Piracy Act is fine by me. When I taught at a community college, any student who cited Wikipedia qualified for an automatic “F”. I put a few papers...
View ArticleSprint is at it again
A number of small carriers have sent a letter to Congress requesting that the Federal Communications Commission be given flexibility to set restrictions on who may bid for spectrum during voluntary...
View ArticleAllowing AT&T, Verizon to bid on broadcast spectrum the right move
It looks like Congress may be headed to signing off on a payroll tax extension. Unfortunately for broadband consumers, the package includes allowing the Federal Communications Commission the...
View ArticleJamal Simmons adds to argument as to why Congress made right call on auction...
Scale. Scale. Scale. Jamal Simmons hits it on the nail head in his blog post on The Podium last Friday. If the national broadband plan to get broadband into unserved households is to have a chance, it...
View ArticleNothing Too Scary Policy Wise from Genachowski, McDowell
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski and Commissioner Robert McDowell today spoke before the House Sub-Committee on Financial Services and General Government, defending their...
View ArticleApps economy: What Congress needs to do to develop it
The apps economy is about infrastructure and if Congress wants to see this vibrant industry develop, an industry that, according to testimony before Congress by TechNet CEO Rey Ramsey, has created...
View ArticleThere is infrastructure. Then there is broadband infrastructure
Highways, airports, roads, bridges, harbors. All are part of the conduit that moves American commerce, getting goods and services from consumer to producer. They are part of the commonwealth, owned by...
View ArticleBroadband stimulus program example of why government shouldn’t create markets
I took a look at testimony provided by Assistant Secretary of Commerce Larry Strickland to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce as part of its hearing on broadband stimulus. Mr. Strickland made...
View ArticleWhat?! Economic theory doesn’t apply to consumer welfare?
I had one of those moments where I was reminded that heart disease runs in the family. Delana Derakhshani, policy counsel for Consumers Union offered testimony today before the Senate Sub-Committee on...
View ArticleThe policy purpose of FCC reform
The topic of reform of the Federal Communications Commission is raising its head in Congress. It’s about time. The last congressional warrior to push seriously for change at the FCC was Jim DeMint,...
View ArticlePai commends House commerce committee on consolidated reporting bill
Here are comments made by Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai about the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s passage of the Consolidated Reporting Act: “I commend the House Energy and...
View ArticleFCC member Ajit Pai opines on Communications Act review
Federal Communications Commission member Ajit Pai released the following statement about a proposal coming out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee to revise the Communications Act of 1934: “I...
View ArticleThe framework for revising the Communications Act should be based on output...
Regulators suffer from severe cases of marginal thinking. They, like the attorneys that advise them, can’t seem to let go of major pieces of the past, holding on to old ideas when facing new...
View ArticleMichael Copps starting to sound like George W. Bush
Jon Brodkin posted a piece in Ars Technica.com citing former Federal Communications Commission member Michael Copps’ call for Title II treatment of broadband providers. Mr Copps reminds me of former...
View ArticleHenry Waxman’s final net neutrality gasp
I guess U.S. Representative Henry Waxman, Democrat of California, didn’t like it when I did back flips over his announcement last week that he was retiring from the U.S. Congress after 40 years of...
View ArticleMarsha Blackburn ready to cut off net neutrality rules at the pass
U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee, today filed a bill that would invalidate the Federal Communications Commission’s current net neutrality rules. The bill would also...
View ArticleThe Internet’s growth is reason for regulatory humility
Seeing Mark Zuckerberg in a suit and tie is still something I have to get used to, but it’s a small price a billionaire has to pay in order to bend the President’s ear on issues of privacy and...
View ArticleSteps that Congress can take to modernizing spectrum policy
Happy Monday to all. This morning I shared the following comments via a letter with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. I thought I’d share them with you as well. An updated Act should not...
View Article
