MuniWireless

Competition in the broadband space‚Äö?Ñ?Æpublic and private‚Äö?Ñ?Ægot a lot of attention this week and it is scheduled to receive more. The Federal Trade Commission plans to host a two-day public workshop on “Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy” in Washington, DC, Feb. 13-14, 2007.Competition in the broadband space‚Äö?Ñ?Æpublic and private‚Äö?Ñ?Ægot a lot of attention this week and it is scheduled to receive more. The Federal Trade Commission plans to host a two-day public workshop on “Broadband Connectivity Competition Policy” in Washington, DC, Feb. 13-14, 2007.

Speakers and panelists are still being lined up. Anyone interested? You can sign up at the FTC web site. http://www.ftc.gov/opp/workshops/broadband/index.html

The FTC tackled the competition question in regards to munis in its September report, “Municipal Provision of Wireless Internet” That report offered a decision matrix to help munis identify what Maureen K. Ohlhausen, Director of the FTC s Office of Policy Planning, called the “important competition issues that policymakers should consider when determining whether and how municipalities should provide that service.” It concluded “The decision of whether, and through what vehicle, a municipality should facilitate or provide wireless Internet service requires a high fact-specific analysis that is not amenable to a one-size-fits-all policy recommendation.”–Carol Ellison

Related posts:

1. Commentary: 700 Mhz competition is now up to Congress
2. AT&T acknowledges need for a national broadband policy
3. FTC can’t protect consumers from anti-competitive behavior in broadband market