FCC Needs Better Broadband Data to Analyze Competition, DOJ Says
The FCC needs more specific broadband and telephone service data to perform a solid competitive analysis of the markets it regulates, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division said in an ex parte filing. The National Broadband Map isn’t a precise enough tool to meet the commission’s needs, DOJ said. The department weighed in more than a month after the close of the FCC’s comment period on how its Form 477 Data Program could be improved.
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Industry groups and companies urged the FCC to streamline its data collection process rather than ask for more information from industry, but state regulators said they needed access to better data from the FCC.
Collecting census block data, “to the extent practical and not overly burdensome, will yield information that is important and beneficial in promoting competition,” DOJ said. Data now available is too limited, the department said, saying several industry commenters cite the National Broadband Map as a starting point. The NTIA map “is an interesting and informative tool, but its purpose is only to show where broadband service is available,” DOJ said. “Its use for competition analysis is thus extremely limited."
Several industry commenters said the FCC should use data already available from carrier websites and make greater use of information from companies that harvest this data, DOJ noted. “These tools have only limited use for competitive analysis,” the filing said. “Such analysis must incorporate net effective pricing, including what services specifically are being offered, for what standard prices, and with what available discounts and promotions."
Better data benefits everyone, said Andrew Schwartzman, senior vice president of the Media Access Project. “The commission’s data, while somewhat improved from what went before, is nonetheless still insufficient for good policymaking,” Schwartzman said Monday, commenting on the DOJ filing. “Price information, in particular, is very much needed. It is important to recall that carriers receive many benefits from the government, including protection from new competitors. … It is perfectly reasonable for the government to exercise oversight."
"We agree with DOJ, that more detailed information is needed, and pricing information is very important to determine market conditions,” said Public Knowledge spokesman Art Brodsky. “We have said for months that pricing and speed are important for policymakers to see. We are sorry industry disagrees.”
But Free State Foundation President Randolph May said the best measure of competition is the number of competitive alternatives available. “In theory, more data, if it is reliable, is better than less data,” May said. “But DOJ appears to be asking for much more information, for purposes of a competitive analysis, than where broadband is available, which may be problematic. Information concerning pricing, discounts, standards of service, and so forth, is more difficult to come by, and, more importantly, very changeable in a dynamic, evolving marketplace."
"One plausible read is that DOJ wants the commission to publicize more granular broadband pricing data in order to nudge the carriers to offer targeted promotions more widely,” said MF Global analyst Paul Gallant. “Transparency has been a key FCC focus, and DOJ’s letter may provide some cover in that direction."