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FCC's Claim That One ISP Counts As 'Competition' Faces Scrutiny In Court (arstechnica.com)
Jon Brodkin reports via Ars Technica: A Federal Communications Commission decision to eliminate price caps imposed on some business broadband providers should be struck down, advocacy groups told federal judges last week. The FCC failed to justify its claim that a market can be competitive even when there is only one Internet provider, the groups said. Led by Chairman Ajit Pai, the FCC's Republican majority voted in April of this year to eliminate price caps in a county if 50 percent of potential customers "are within a half mile of a location served by a competitive provider." That means business customers with just one choice are often considered to be located in a competitive market and thus no longer benefit from price controls. The decision affects Business Data Services (BDS), a dedicated, point-to-point broadband link that is delivered over copper-based TDM networks by incumbent phone companies like AT&T, Verizon, and CenturyLink.
But the FCC's claim that "potential competition" can rein in prices even in the absence of competition doesn't stand up to legal scrutiny, critics of the order say. "In 2016, after more than 10 years of examining the highly concentrated Business Data Services market, the FCC was poised to rein in anti-competitive pricing in the BDS market to provide enterprise customers, government agencies, schools, libraries, and hospitals with much-needed relief from monopoly rates," Phillip Berenbroick, senior policy counsel at consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge said. But after Republicans gained the FCC majority in 2017, "the commission illegally reversed course without proper notice and further deregulated the BDS market, leaving consumers at risk of paying up to $20 billion a year in excess charges from monopolistic pricing," Berenbroick said.
But the FCC's claim that "potential competition" can rein in prices even in the absence of competition doesn't stand up to legal scrutiny, critics of the order say. "In 2016, after more than 10 years of examining the highly concentrated Business Data Services market, the FCC was poised to rein in anti-competitive pricing in the BDS market to provide enterprise customers, government agencies, schools, libraries, and hospitals with much-needed relief from monopoly rates," Phillip Berenbroick, senior policy counsel at consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge said. But after Republicans gained the FCC majority in 2017, "the commission illegally reversed course without proper notice and further deregulated the BDS market, leaving consumers at risk of paying up to $20 billion a year in excess charges from monopolistic pricing," Berenbroick said.
He's just looking out for a job back at Verizon when he's done.
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
Super obvious this guy is basically a plant / spy. We know it. He knows we know it. No one is doing a thing about it other than going wahhh wahh wahh. Me included. Russia should take note. They could plant some politicians and probably give deaths of the US to Russia and propose we pay taxes to Russia. We would sit here and bellyache but do nothing.
Is anyone really surprised by this now? This has been the way of things in America for ages. Democrats aren't even good politicians, just centrist normals. Republicans are so far to the right it's hilariously stupid. America needs a third party and has needed one for years. At least a moderate right party if not a further left party.
Oh that seems fair. Not "served by a competitive provider" but rather, "within a half mile of a location served by a competitive provider".
Which party is doing this shit again?
Oh, right.
Now who's the fucking moron?
You are welcome on my lawn.
One of rather many flaws in modern American conservatist thought is the idea that because someone has a freedom that they are using to crush someone else, that this is OK, because in theory the other person could spend their life building up the same resources to crush the other guy.
It's the same logic as with gun freedoms - even the most abject set of mass murders with guns is seen as socially acceptable in aggrigate, because in theory, a 'good' person could have popped up and shot the mass murderers with a gun also - therefore, it's no problem. Even with words mouthed towards mental illness, decade over decade, these same politicians reduce funding for those same mental health issues, AND promote legislation to make it easier for those same mentally ill people to get guns.
Same here - they mouth words at how bad monopolies are, but put forth legislation and appoint people that makes it easier to form monopolies, and use them to ruin lives on a continuous basis.
And no, you can't fight against this with individual action - monopolies when they form tend to by definition lock up a crucial resources that prevents you from fighting against them on an individual level. And modern 'conservative' ideology is for the same arbitration systems that prevent you from using the court to fix it, along with countless laws to shelter resources from any victory you could achieve.