DALLAS, TX: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) should stay within its bounds and let the private sector work, said the Institute for Policy Innovation in comments recently filed regarding the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger review, and additionally in regard to two U.S. cities calling upon the FCC to overturn state laws regulating municipal broadband networks.
Regarding the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger, IPI advised the FCC to not stand in the way of market-driven consolidation of providers, especially when the merger will not harm competition and will likely benefit consumers.
IPI president Tom Giovanetti pointed out that, as Comcast and Time Warner Cable do not compete with each other, and as Comcast has been a leader in delivering innovative products and services to its customers, the merger will actually bring an improved level of products and services to Time Warner Cable’s customers.
Giovanetti also questioned the review process itself, citing remarks from former FCC Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker at IPI’s 2010 Communications Summit in which she suggested the FCC’s job in a merger review is simply to “transfer a license, not bless the entire transaction.”
“In a free society, the default condition should be approval of mergers, or even an end to the merger review process altogether,” said Giovanetti. “Why should mergers of communications companies be subjected to a duplicative and more stringent review process than mergers in other industries?”
Responding to the issue of the cities of Wilson, N.C. and Chattanooga, Tenn. petitioning the FCC to overturn state laws regulating municipal broadband networks, IPI reminded the FCC it lacks the authority to force states to allow government-owned broadband networks, and that private sector networks do a far better job than do government-owned networks.
“It would be unconstitutional for the FCC to preempt prudent state laws restricting municipal broadband projects, which have largely been wastes of taxpayer dollars,” said Giovanetti.
“The history of municipal network projects is rich in municipal hubris, naiveté, debt, bankruptcy and failure,” he said. “We hope the FCC will stand on the side of the law and operate within the limits of its power, rather than contravening state law and violating the Constitution.”
The Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI) is an independent, nonprofit public policy organization based in Dallas. IPI president Tom Giovanetti is available for interview by contacting Erin Humiston at (972) 874-5139, or erin@ipi.org.