Free State Foundation President Randolph May, Senior Fellow Andrew Long, and I filed comments and reply comments in the FCC's 2022 Communications Marketplace Report proceeding. As FSF's July 2022 comments stated available data from 2020 and 2021 support the conclusion that the broadband and video services markets are effectively competitive" and that "each of these markets increasingly is characterized by effective intermodal competition." Regarding the broadband Internet access services, our comments cited a host of data regarding competing provider coverage, next-generation network deployment, speeds, and pricing that point to the competitive and innovative state of the market.
In the time since FSF's comments were filed, news stories and reports – about fixed broadband speed improvements, fiber broadband subscriber growth, fixed wireless access (FWA) service subscriber growth, multi-gigabit cable broadband"10G" network rollouts by Comcast and by Charter Communications, subscriber growth in cable competitive mobile virtual network operator (cable MVNO) services, projected growing demand for 5G mobile data, mobile wirelessbroadband affordability, fixed broadband speed improvements, strong wireless network investment, speed increases for 5G wireless networks, and more – appear to confirm the effectively competitive state of the broadband market.
Furthermore, FSF's August 2022 reply comments emphasized policy actions that the FCC should take to promote continued investment, innovation, and competition in the broadband and video markets. Regarding broadband inputs, the reply comments emphasized repurposing of spectrum for commercial use, particularly in the lower 3 GHz, the 4 GHz, 7 GHz, and 12 GHz bands. And on the infrastructure siting front, FSF's reply comments recommended that the Commission: (1) declare that fees charged by local governments for deploying wireline facilities in rights-of-way that exceed reasonable costs effectively prohibit broadband services, contrary to Section 253(a); and (2) adopt presumptive reasonableness timeframes of 60-days and 90-days for local governments to act on permit applications involving existing and new wireline facilities in rights-of-way.
Hopefully, the 2022 Communications Marketplace Report will recognize the continuing reality of the competitive state of the broadband market (as well as the video market). Expect to hear more from Free State Foundation scholars following the release of the forthcoming report.
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