One important concern for the upcoming and highly-complex voluntary incentive auctions for broadcast television spectrum is the degree to which the largest mobile wireless providers will be allowed to participate. Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice encouraged the Federal Communications...

The current dispute between the NFL Network and cable operators over carriage arrangements is a sign the market is working rather than failing. Proposed state legislation mandating arbitration for these disputes negates the programming distributor's ability to negotiate price, terms and...

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is required by the 1992 Cable Act to produce an "Annual Assessment of the Status of Competition in the Market for the Delivery of Video Programming," otherwise known as the "Annual Video Competition Report." These annual reports are eagerly awaited not...

Radio spectrum is fundamental to the operation of wireless communications services. In order to allocate radio spectrum for different services, spectrum is regulated via national laws, coordinated by an international body, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). For the most part,...

In this paper, we attempt to shed light on an important policy question: Does the current way by which providers compensate each other for the exchange of voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), wireless, local, and long distance calls inhibit broadband deployment? This question is timely, as the...

In this paper, we consider the argument that Carterfone-type rules are required in response to mobile operators' use of term contracts, early termination fees, and allegedly restrictive handset certification and support policies. First, we show that such practices by mobile operators are...

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...

Firms that wish to offer wireline, multichannel video programming services in direct competition with cable incumbents are being faced with calls by those incumbents and policymakers to "build-out" to entire communities as a pre-condition to receiving a franchise. This "build-out" requirement is...

Countries around the world are increasingly concerned as to whether the adoption of broadband technology by their respective citizens is sufficient to support economic growth and social development. Unfortunately, such concerns are often expressed in terms of where a country ranks among its...

Recently, the Bush Administration decided not to seek Supreme Court review of USTA v. FCC (USTA II), where the D.C. Circuit eviscerated the Federal Communications Commission's unbundling rules promulgated pursuant to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. According to the Bush Administration, we...