monopoly – Page 11 – Steve Blum's Blog

New year but old questions for technology and telecoms policymakers

1 January 2019 by Steve Blum
monopoly, muni broadband, netneutrality, privacy, public policy

Five major broadband issues will top the public policy charts in California and at the federal level in 2019. In no particular order…

Net neutrality – The ball is in a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., where arguments will be heard in February over whether the Federal Communications Commission acted properly in 2017 when it declared broadband is not a telecommunications service. California’s net neutrality law is on hold until that case plays out, which could take years.

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FCC’s economic illiteracy on display in muni property preemption fight

29 December 2018 by Steve Blum
fcc, monopoly, pole attachment, public policy, small cells

Sometimes the real story is in the footnotes. That’s the case with a Federal Communications Commission denial of a request to delay enforcement of its September order that would, if upheld by federal courts, take away property rights from local governments. In the denial, the FCC tries to make its case with economic nonsense: that the market value of an asset is only determined only by its “actual and direct costs”.

The market value of anything is determined by the balance between its perceived worth to the buyer and the seller.… More

Partisan shift in Congress could influence anti-trust reviews of T-Mobile’s takeover of Sprint

29 November 2018 by Steve Blum
cpuc, mobile broadband, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

The flip from a republican majority to a democratic one in the federal house of representatives has opened a window of opportunity for, among others, those opposed to T-Mobile’s planned takeover of Sprint. A coalition of fourteen labor organisations and a wide range of advocacy are urging the presumed incoming chairmen of the house judiciary, and energy and commerce committees to investigate the “likely effects” of the deal.

In a letter sent yesterday (h/t to a story by Harper Neidig in the Hill for the pointer), the groups reminded representatives Jerry Nadler (D – New York) and Frank Pallone (D – New Jersey) that they spoke out against the merger when democrats were the minority party, that they should follow through now that they’re in the majority…

Representative Pallone, on April 30th you and Representative Doyle wrote to Chairman Walden and Chairman Blackburn requesting a hearing on the proposed Sprint/T-Mobile merger.

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Investor-owned electric utilities won’t be California’s competitive broadband hope

27 November 2018 by Steve Blum
broadband, cpuc, monopoly, PGE, SCE

The door has officially closed on expansions of Pacific Gas and Electric’s and Southern California Edison’s telecommunications businesses. It’s a small issue compared to the wildfire disasters that both companies are grappling with, but it could have a significant and ongoing effect on California’s uncompetitive broadband services market.

At its last meeting, the California Public Utilities Commission voted to allow PG&E to withdraw its application to become a certified telecommunications company. It applied last year, hoping to make better use of the 2,600 miles of fiber optic routes it owns in northern California.… More

FCC’s broadband market share data shows urban/rural technology divide and decline of DSL

25 November 2018 by Steve Blum
broadband, competition, fcc, monopoly, public policy

There’s a lot to chew over in the Federal Communications Commission’s latest report on broadband subscribers in the U.S. Just one of the many charts (pictured above) tells an interesting story about how people in the U.S. get fixed broadband service in their homes. Two conclusions jump out immediately: cable companies are winning the fight for broadband market share, but the availability of cable modem, fiber to the premise or other wireline service depends population density.… More

T-Mobile not worried about speed or result of CPUC review of Sprint deal

22 November 2018 by Steve Blum
cpuc, mobile broadband, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

T-Mobile doesn’t seem to be too worried about getting approval from the California Public Utilities Commission for its proposed takeover of Sprint. The company’s chief financial officer, Braxton Carter, spoke at an investment conference in Barcelona last week, and offered an optimistic timeline to complete the transaction…

The goal, we believe, is still to close this transaction…in the first half, probably in the second quarter of ’19. You look at the shot clock with the FCC, it’s really implying a very early April end of that shot clock at this point, and that’s why I’m more pointing to the second quarter is more probable.

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CPUC opens investigation into consumer broadband prices and other utility rates

21 November 2018 by Steve Blum
broadband, cpuc, monopoly, public policy, utility regulation

The cost burden of consumer broadband service will be evaluated by the California Public Utilities Commission, as part of a larger inquiry into the affordability of all types of utility services. A “scoping memo”, released by commissioner Clifford Rechtschaffen on Monday, outlines the issues on the table as the CPUC tries to develop common metrics and methods for evaluating the affordability of all utility services under its jurisdiction.

The idea was floated in July, and utilities had a chance to offer their opinions on what should be considered and how it should be done.… More

U.S. mobile bandwidth is rich world’s most expensive, and it could get worse

20 November 2018 by Steve Blum
cpuc, mobile broadband, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

Mobile broadband prices in the U.S. are the highest in the developed world, according to a report just published by a Finnish research company. A study by Rewheel concluded that even though there are four seemingly competitive mobile operators in the U.S., “gigabyte prices are not competitive”, and “the US has the 5th highest gigabyte prices in smartphone plans and is the most expensive market in mobile broadband among the 41” European Union and other developed countries (i.e.… More

T-Mobile Sprint merger will eliminate thousands of California jobs, union says

18 October 2018 by Steve Blum
cpuc, mobile broadband, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

The Communications Workers of America (CWA), which is the largest telecoms union in California, asked to join the California Public Utilities Commission’s inquiry into T-Mobile’s proposed takeover of Sprint yesterday. In its “motion for party status”, CWA said it represents wireless industry workers at AT&T and “as members of T-Mobile Workers United, an organisation of T-Mobile and MetroPCS employees”.

Many could lose their jobs, according to the union’s motion…

The T-Mobile/Sprint merger will have a significant impact on CWA members, both as workers in the industry and as consumers of wireless services.

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T-Mobile, Sprint merger review widens in California

8 October 2018 by Steve Blum
cpuc, mobile broadband, monopoly, sprint, t-mobile

It seems someone jumped the gun at the California Public Utilities Commission, and prematurely sent out a ruling defining the scope of California’s regulatory review of T-Mobile’s proposed purchase of Sprint. On Thursday, the commissioner in charge of the inquiry, Clifford Rechtschaffen, issued an amended version of the “scoping memo” he released the week before, saying the first one “was mailed in error”.

There are several wordsmithing changes in the updated version, and a few that are more substantive.… More