The newly Republican FCC continues to dismantle any and all consumer protections from telecoms. Thursday, Chairman Ajit Pai and his cronies lifted the broadband price caps for most of the business broadband market. They did this by creating a new set of standards for what is considered to be a “competitive market.” Of course, Ajit Pai—champion of transparency—didn’t let the public see which markets that would be beforehand. Guess what? Those markets include smaller and poorer areas where there is only ONE broadband provider and virtually no hope of there ever being any competition.
Campaign ActionLarge telecom companies such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. provide special connections to heavy data users such as banks, retailers, schools and hospitals for services such as ATMs, credit-card authorizations and general Internet access.
Pai said FCC price controls were preventing existing providers from expanding their networks and discouraging new entrants, such as cable companies.
“Price regulation is seductive,” he said. “In reality, price regulation threatens competition and investment.”
This is a load of bullshit. As the only Democrat on the FCC, Mignon Clyburn wrote in a lengthy and damning dissent:
Call it whatever you want—business data services (BDS) or “special access”—what this Order does is open the door to immediate price hikes for small business broadband service in rural areas and hundreds of communities across the country. Cash strapped hospitals, schools, libraries, and police departments will pay even more for vital connectivity, and soon we will see pressure on our Rural Healthcare and E-Rate fund budgets, resulting in less bandwidth for our schools, libraries, and rural healthcare institutions. The promise of realizing more bang for our Universal Service buck in the Connect America Fund II and the Mobility Fund II reverse auctions, will not be realized, which will mean less broadband to consumers, for a higher price tag. This order puts a hefty nail in the coffin of wireline competition, undermining the market-opening goals of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, and paving the way for less competition and more industry consolidation. I should not be surprised by any of this. After all, this is Industry Consolidation Month at the FCC.