Apparently Netflix is angling to become Silicon Valley’s king of corporate welfare. We learn from a New York Times economics column advocating for an Internet industrial policy that “Netflix is trying to build a coalition of businesses to make the case for… net neutrality.” And...
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Corporate Welfare
T-Mobile to FCC: Give us a Do-Over and Verizon’s Cable Spectrum Too
T-Mobile demanded last week that the FCC deny the Verizon-Cable spectrum license transfer, apparently so Deutsche Telecom/T-Mobile could get it at a deep FCC managed-market discount. The FCC is not Deutsche Telecom/T-Mobile’s personal do-over button that they can push and magically reset the marketplace to...
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Spectrum: To Auction or Not to Auction?
The FCC’s recent call for unbounded spectrum auction authority spotlights an important debate over whether some of this scarce and extremely valuable wireless spectrum should be auctioned or not. • Ironically the FCC is asking Congress to give it spectrum auction authority to not auction...
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FCC Seeks Unbounded Spectrum Auction Authority
At CES, the FCC signaled that it opposed any effort by Congress to give the FCC policy direction or to establish any checks and balances on the FCC in authorizing incentive auctions of prime TV broadcast spectrum. See my Forbes Tech Capitalist post “FCC Seeks...
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Netflix’ Uneconomics
Netflix’ continues to exhibit serious difficulties grasping basic economics, competition and value. First, Netflix is lowering its value to customers. Netflix now charges its subscribers’ 60% more in September in return for lots less premium content available for subscribers in February, as Netflix just lost Starz,...
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Netflix’ Glass House Temper Tantrum over Broadband Usage Fees
Netflix continues to throw stones at the common economic practice of usage-based pricing, to which broadband carriers are naturally migrating, all while Netflix stands inside a glass house filled with mis-managed usage pricing practices. Netflix as Stone Thrower: In a concerted campaign for net neutrality regulation...
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FCC Out-Europes Europe on Net Neutrality — Why?
“The Net Neutrality Debate in Europe is Over” per an excellent commentary by Ben Rooney in WSJ TechEurope. Mr. Rooney chronicles the evolving public position of EU Digital Commissioner Neelie Kroes from an original pro net neutrality regulation mindset, to now the opposite — a...
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NetFlix’ Open Internet Entitlement Hubris
It appears as if Netflix’ rocket stock and nosebleed market valuation has infected Netflix’ CEO, Reed Hastings, with a bad bout of dot.com hubris fever complete with hallucinations that Netflix is somehow a needy online video provider entitled to new massive subsidies under the FCC’s...
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Level 3 Seeks Title II Internet Reg Conditions on Comcast-NBCU
In requesting the FCC and DOJ condition the Comcast-NBCU merger with Title II telephone regulation of Comcast’s Internet backbone, Level 3 seeks to achieve through the back door of the FCC what they could not achieve through the front door. In a speech December 1st,...
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Paid Prioritization: The Demonization of Market Economics
Now we know what “real net neutrality” and “openness” are, and that they are the antithesis of free market economics or competition. As the FreePress-led letter to the FCC made clear on Friday: “Paid prioritization is the antithesis of openness. Any framework that does not...
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