FCC Seeks Unbounded Spectrum Auction Authority
January 17, 2012
At CES, the FCC signaled that it opposed any effort by Congress to give the FCC policy direction or to establish any checks and balances on the FCC in authorizing incentive auctions of prime TV broadcast spectrum.
See my Forbes Tech Capitalist post “FCC Seeks Unbounded Spectrum Auction Authority” to see why the the FCC’s lack of regulatory humility here is so stunning.
Obsolete Television Law Needs Modernization
January 4, 2012
Important free market communications legislation introduced in mid-December warrants flagging because it brings needed attention to a real and growing problem, how obsolete communications law stifles innovation, growth and consumer benefit.
See my Forbes Tech Capitalist post on the DeMint-Scalise bill, “The Next Generation Television Marketplace Act.”
Verizon-Cable Spectrum: Is FCC Open to Frenemy Competition?
December 6, 2011
The out-of-the-box thinking that led to Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House to sell $3.6b of AWS spectrum to competitor Verizon, is a watershed “frenemy” competitive development which ultimately will flush out the real FCC.
Please see my Forbes Tech Capitalist Post “Verizon-Cable Spectrum: Is FCC Open To Internet Frenemy Competition?”
Top Ten Flaws in FCC’s AT&T / T-Mobile Competition Analysis
December 5, 2011
NetCompetition Statement on Verizon/Cable-SpectrumCo Transaction
December 2, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 2, 2011
Contact: Scott Cleland
703-217-2407
Verizon/SpectrumCo Deal Reflects Metamorphosis of Communications Competition
Broadband, Internet, & Cloud Computing Technologies Creating Omni-Modal Competition
WASHINGTON D.C. – Verizon Wireless’ purchase of 20 MHz of currently unused, near-nationwide AWS spectrum from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Bright House Networks for $3.6b and reselling rights spotlights the extraordinary metamorphosis of communications competition being driven by broadband, Internet and cloud computing technologies.
The following quotes may be attributed to Scott Cleland, Chairman of NetCompetition.org:
“This transformative deal spotlights the extraordinary metamorphosis of the communications market to the ‘omni-modal competition’ occurring everyday in the marketplace, where broadband, Internet, and cloud computing technologies scramble old market boundaries and create new markets all the time. Specifically, this deal’s cross-reselling arrangement — cable bundling Verizon’s wireless service and Verizon reselling cable services via its stores — is very similar to the evolving competitor-partner layered relationships that broadband communications providers have morphed into over the last few years with manufacturers, software providers, retailers, content companies, financial companies, and platform players like: Apple, Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon, to name the most prominent.”
(To better understand this transformation of the competitive landscape to ‘omni-modal competition,’ please see this seven- page graphic presentation here entitled: “The Metamorphosis of Communications Competition Driven by Broadband, Internet, and Cloud Computing Technologies.” The link: http://netcompetition.org/images/uploads/The_Metamorphosis_of_Communications_Competition.pdf)
“Spectrum is the property foundation of wireless private enterprise. Given that commercially-available spectrum is a finite resource and re-purposed spectrum comes to market at a glacial pace, available, unused and useful spectrum for leading wireless providers is exceedingly scarce.”
“Spectrum need is directly proportional to the number and usage rates of a provider’s subscriber base, especially the number of bandwidth intensive smart-phone and tablet customers. The larger the provider, the greater the need for spectrum to maintain capacity, quality of service, and growth headroom for next generation services.”
NETCompetition.org is a pro-competition e-forum representing broadband interests. See www.netcompetition.org.
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