FCC Votes to Establish Office of Economics & Analytics

The Federal Communications Commission voted to create an FCC Office of Economics and Analytics. This new unit will help ensure that economic analysis is deeply and consistently incorporated as part of the agency’s regular operations. The Office of Economics and Analytics will use existing staff resources by bringing into one office FCC economists, attorneys, and data professionals who work on economic analysis, data policy and management, and research. In support of and in coordination with other FCC bureaus and offices, this new office will provide economic analysis for rulemakings, transactions, adjudications, and other Commission actions. It will manage the FCC’s auctions program, and it also will manage significant FCC data collections such as Form 477. It will develop policies and strategies to manage the FCC’s data resources and establish best practices
for use throughout the agency. In addition, it will conduct long-term research on ways to improve the Commission’s policies and processes. The new office will include four divisions: economic analysis, industry analysis, auctions, and data.