In this paper, we offer a hybrid approach to merger simulation in which we allow rather extensive pre-testing to suggest the quot;correctquot;, or most desirable, form for the underlying demand curves. Our application is the merger between the large mobile telephone companies Cingular and...

The Bell Operating Companies (quot;BOCsquot;) argue that Total Element Long Run Incremental Cost (TELRIC) prices set by State public service commissions have no nexus to the BOCs' actual forward-looking costs but are, instead, based on retail prices with the goal of ensuring that competitors...

In this Policy Bulletin, we evaluate Network Neutrality proposals from the standpoint of consumer welfare and economic efficiency by presenting a cost/benefit analysis framework for examining the effect on consumers of Network Neutrality proposals that would limit operators from injecting...

The purpose of this Policy Paper is to examine empirically the relative impact that a regulatory mandate like network neutrality would have on high-cost areas and to compare that relative burden to lower-cost urban areas. We find areas that are, on average, high-cost could be disproportionately...

Competitive industries respond to positive demand-side and negative supply-side shocks in predictable ways. Prices will rise and, under some conditions, margins along with them. Margins may rise because of supply shocks, but they do so in competitive markets without collusion among producers....

This Paper discusses important economic characteristics of local exchange markets and the firms that participate therein. First, this Paper explains that entry into the local exchange market requires large fixed and sunk costs, making entry risky and necessitating scale economies. Consequently,...

This Policy Paper discusses important economic characteristics of local exchange markets and the firms that participate therein. First, this Policy Paper, building on the work in PHOENIX CENTER POLICY PAPER NO. 10, explains that entry into the local exchange market requires large fixed and sunk...

In this brief Policy Paper, the incentives of the Bell Companies to promote "real competition" by eliminating the Unbundled Network Element Platform as an entry mode are examined. As common sense dictates, the Bell Company anti Unbundled Network Element Platform message is not driven by a desire...

Fifty years ago, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter warned the Federal Communications Commission not to view competition in an abstract, sterile way. To illustrate the dangers of using such an abstract approach to the key issue of ILEC market power, this paper uses the Commission's...

Traditional phone carriers have announced ambitious multi-billion dollar plans to bulk up their networks with fiber in order to deliver a range of new services, including multi-channel video in competition with video incumbents. This competition promises to benefit consumers through lower...