Articles Posted in FCC Antitrust Highlights

On June 18, 2018, T-Mobile and Sprint filed initial papers with the FCC.  The parties made a number of arguments on why their deal should pass regulatory muster. First, T-Mobile and Sprint argue that they need the deal to compete with the Big Two (AT&T and Verizon) – the combined firm would be able to…

On December 14, 2017, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted 3-2 to adopt the Restoring Internet Freedom Order and in doing so, scrapped its net neutrality rules that were put in place in 2015. Net Neutrality is a principle that allows for an open and free internet.  The Internet Service Providers (ISPs”) are the gatekeepers…

On December 6, 2017, Senator Elizabeth Warren sharply criticized the state of antitrust enforcement in a speech at the Open Markets Institute. She said that antitrust enforcers adopted the Chicago School principles, which narrowed the scope of the antitrust laws and allowed mega-mergers to proceed resulting in many concentrated industries.  She believes that antitrust enforcers…

On November 10, 2014, President Obama forcefully stated his position on net neutrality.  While acknowledging that the FCC is the agency that has the authority to create new rules protecting net neutrality, President Obama stated that the FCC should create “the strongest possible rules” to stop “paid prioritization” and other actions that favor the transmission…

On September 17, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing — “Why Net Neutrality Matters: Protecting Consumers and Competition Through Meaningful Open Internet Rules.”  The witnesses were: ·            Brad Burnham – Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures ·            Ruth Livier – Writer, Independent Producer, and Actress ·            Robert McDowell – Former Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)…

In a September 4, 2014 speech, Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) Chairman Tom Wheeler expressed concerns about the lack of broadband competition in the United States. Chairman Wheeler explained that access to a 25 Mbps connection is becoming essential (or “table stakes”) to consumers with a majority of Americans having access to 100 Mbps or higher…

On September 3, 2014, the FCC announced it reached a settlement with Verizon for $7.4 million. The settlement ending an investigating into Verizon’s alleged misuse of customer information. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau was investigating Verizon’s alleged failure to notify approximately two million new customers of their privacy rights.  Specifically, Verizon allegedly failed to provide to…

In June and July of 2013, the Department of Justice's (“DOJ”) Antitrust Division, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), filed two civil suits against alleged violators of pre-merger notification filing requirements under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (“HSR”) Act of 1976. HSR Act Currently, the HSR Act imposes notification and waiting period requirements on individuals…

In light of the Department of Justice's attempt to block telecom giant, AT&T from acquiring T-Mobile, the Hudson Institute recently released a report discussing antitrust policy as it applies to the growth of innovation. See Irwin Stelzer, Antitrust Policy in an Age of Rapid Innovation, BRIEFING PAPER (Hudson Inst., Washington, D.C.) Oct. 2011. Key Takeaways:…

On October 13, 2009, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) settled with AT&T Inc. (“AT&T”) regarding its $944 million acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp. (“Centennial”). Specifically, AT&T is required to divest its assets in eight Cellular Marketing Areas (“CMA”), as defined by the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), in southwestern and central Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi in…