Nearly one calendar year
since NCTA filed its conditional petition for forbearance from any restrictions
on cableco/CLEC mergers under Section 652. On May 30 the FCC granted itself a 90-day extension of its shot clock.
In an August 2011 FSF
Perspectives essay I argued that the "Section 652 Cross-Ownership Ban Shouldn't Apply to
Cable Operators and CLECs." Banning or otherwise imposing special
restrictions cableco/CLEC mergers makes no sense in an advanced
telecommunications market characterized by convergence and cross-platform
competition. Regulatory restrictions discouraging such mergers can also result
in the foregone transactions that create efficiencies and enhance competition
to the overall benefit of consumers.
I mentioned in a March blog post that the FCC has yet to take action. Unfortunately,
it looks like the FCC has again fallen back into its pattern of prolonging forbearance proceedings.
Section 10 provides that
forbearance petitions not acted upon within one year's time or within a year
plus 90 days in the case of an extension will be "deemed granted" by operation of law. The deemed granted
provision is a deregulatory tool
and provides an important backstop to agency delay. Hopefully, the FCC will
issue an order in this proceeding well before the extended shotclock expires.
Either through a declaratory ruling or by granting forbearance relief, the FCC
should make clear that Section 652's do not apply to cableco/CLEC mergers.
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