Competition/Antitrust

The Federal Communications Commission is cracking down on sweetheart deals made between building owners and broadband providers, but that could leave some tenants out in the cold when it comes to reliable internet access. Analysts have warned that without extra financial incentives, some fiber providers may be unwilling to invest enough to deliver a quality network.

AT&T largely lost an advertising dispute with Charter Communications, with a review panel recommending the operator change or discontinue claims its fiber service is better than cable. The case dates back to 2021, when Charter filed a complaint with the National Advertising Division (NAD) challenging assertions made in AT&T ads that it offers “up to 20x faster upload speeds” than cable and is “half the price.” Charter also disputed AT&T’s claims that fiber offers “better internet” than cable.

In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress allocated around $65 billion to connect Americans to broadband internet and gave the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) a leadership role in guiding states on how to spend the funds. Now, it will be up to the NTIA and the states to ensure that congressional goals become a reality. This Request for Comment by the American Action Forum raises important questions about the appropriate path forward, and these comments aim to guide the NTIA to maximize the efficiency of each tax dollar spent.

In a letter to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Assistant Secretary Alan Davidson, Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sen Steve Daines (R-MT) and several other senators urged the agency to prioritize funding for broadband projects in unserved rural areas. "NTIA has an opportunity to make substantial impact on connecting rural America. However, doing so will require that your agency outline rules that specifically prohibit overbuilding and that set clear criteria to ensure projects targeted at unserved areas are actually prioritized," said the February 4 letter.

The internet has failed to nourish our news and information diet the way we hoped it would twenty years ago. The norm is major platforms poaching the news they distribute directly from newspaper and television newsrooms while failing to make any meaningful investments in journalism despite generating billions of dollars in advertising revenue that traditional media once depended upon. Solutions have been suggested; one option is vigorous anti-trust to break up monopolies.

On January 7, 2022, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) requested public comment on policy and program considerations associated with new broadband grant programs authorized and funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, the Enabling Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Program, and the State Digital Equity Planning Grant Program.

Both T-Mobile and Verizon have made quite a big deal about their new fixed wireless access (FWA) offerings. They’re tapping unused capacity on their nationwide wireless networks to offer FWA for home broadband. These offerings will help to provide broadband in underserved areas, and they also give T-Mobile and Verizon a means to steal share from wired telco and cable providers.

Cable operators have talked a big game about the faster broadband speeds their DOCSIS upgrades will bring, but AT&T EVP of Technology Operations Chris Sambar said he’s not even remotely worried they’ll pose a competitive threat to its fiber products. “I think that to get to DOCSIS 4 they’re going to have to spend a lot of money and I think they know it. I think that’s why I think they keep messing around with multi-gig speeds that are asymmetrical and have terrible uploads,” he said. “I believe we are already ahead of them on multi-gigabit symmetrical.

INCOMPAS, the internet and competitive networks association, filed comments with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) urging the Department of Commerce to enshrine competition laws into the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act implementation to ensure all Americans have access to faster speeds and future proof networks at more affordable prices. The INCOMPAS filing details a road map to help NTIA deliver on the promise of connecting all Americans to better internet services while creating jobs, attracting investment and unleashing innovation.

T-Mobile added 2.9 million phone subscribers in 2021 and forecast its midband 5G network would reach 300 million people by 2023. In three months ending December 31, T-Mobile added 844,000 postpaid customers, a subscriber category prized by carriers for long-term revenue and overall success. It also added 224,000 net customers of its high-speed internet service.