Getting cheaper and better cable services to consumers has been difficult because the laws governing the sector have proved tough to change. This week, officials in two states announced key decisions that may significantly change the terms of the debate. Both announcements involve cable franchise reform. That’s the issue that’s been frustrating telecom companies and [...]

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There’s a policy issue before Congress so pressing that even Hollywood actors like former “Charmed” star Alyssa Milano are blogging about it. It’s called “Net neutrality,” and its purpose is to control what network owners can charge for their services. Such a plan would harm consumers and crush diversity on the Internet. Milano, who seemed [...]

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Below is the press release announcing a study I just co-authored on cable franchise issues. I’m reproducing the entire release below b/c it’s a good summary of the paper and why you should read it. New Study says Consumers are Paying Too Much for Cable TV Consumers are paying too much for cable services, a [...]

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About a month ago, a bi-partisan group of senators released a statement supporting cable franchise reform. Now key members of the House of Representatives appear to agree. At this rate, consumers might actually see national reform that will slash cable bills and make video service more innovative and interesting. For years, consumers have yearned to [...]

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The recent news that AT&T made a deal to acquire BellSouth has elicited two reactions: one, an assumption that communications prices will go up; and the other, an assumption that prices will go down. It’s always tough to predict exactly what will happen in the marketplace, but the best money will be on the bet [...]

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Some members of Congress want to tax the Internet, and they’re trying to do it under the guise of “telecom reform.” That’s a trick Americans won’t like. It’s time to send Washington a message, loud and clear: hands off the Internet. During hearings on a government tax and welfare program called the Universal Service Fund [...]

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For those who think their cable bills are soaring to all-time highs, it might be reassuring to know that a bipartisan group of U.S. senators agree. At a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing, members pondered the reasons for the rate hikes. “There is only head-to-head competition in less than two percent of America,” said Senator [...]

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Recently, there’s been a lot of chatter about the openness of the Internet being under attack. While the Net is indeed facing a threat, it’s not the one that some pundits make it out to be. Read more about the problem in my Cnet column here.

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After a year of heading in the right direction, the California Public Utilities Commission veered off course last week when Commissioner Dian Grueneich initiated a dangerous move towards old command-and-control regulation. Grueneich claimed to be staking out a middle ground in her alternate plan to Commissioner Michael Peevey’s outline for a California Telecommunications Bill of [...]

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JiWire says that San Francisco has 801 public hotspots — more than anywhere else in the US. The Chron’s Ryan Kim wrote a news piece about it today. I hope the mayor reads it.

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San Francisco supervisor Chris Daly is holding a hearing today “to discuss how the City can have a more consumer-driven rather than tech industry-driven process for establishing a TechConnect network in San Francisco.” If you’d like to testify, the hearing starts at 1pm and is at City Hall, Room 263. The Pacific Research Institute will [...]

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California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rocked the political world recently with the appointment of Susan Kennedy, Democrat and Public Utilities Commissioner (PUC) as his chief of staff. Republicans might feel snubbed, but Kennedy’s appointment is good for the technology sector. A thriving technology sector is good for California, and next year key policy issues will affect [...]

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The city of New Orleans announced it will offer “free” WiFi over a network it deploys and owns. Everyone knows that “free” is not really free, making this one more disaster to add to the city’s woes. Using taxpayer dollars to subsidize porn surfing whilst people starve and go homeless is unconscionable. Hasn’t that city [...]

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Mayor Gavin Newsom has been pushing the idea of “free WiFi” in San Francisco, but it would be anything but free. The Mayor’s play to grant special status to only one WiFi provider in San Francisco would essentially create a government-controlled WiFi monopoly in SF. There are so many reasons to oppose a government-controlled Internet, [...]

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In a move that makes Jim Carrey’s character in “The Cable Guy” look angelic, the California Cable and Telecommunications Association (CCTA) recently circulated a letter to Sacramento lawmakers in an attempt to scare them into protecting cable’s dominant video market position It’s now easy for cable companies and others that offer high-speed Internet services to [...]

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Should high-speed Internet access continue to develop in the marketplace, or should government bureaucrats take over? In this national debate, Americans need to consider how political management of key services often results in disaster, as in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Read my Cnet column on this topic here.

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Revolutionary innovation and competition have shaken up the telecommunications sector, prompting at least three important mergers. Government officials who set the rules of the game are now faced with key decisions that will affect the future of communications in America. Today, the DOJ approved the SBC/AT&T merger, but some states, such as California, are dragging [...]

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Gavin Newsom, San Francisco’s controversial mayor, was in the spotlight again this week as he and his staff contemplated which lucky company will get the rights to provide WiFi access around the city. The real question is, why is government making this choice rather than market forces? To many in the communications industry, particularly cable, [...]

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San Francisco and a number of other cities are considering getting into the broadband business, but that would be a disaster for consumers, small business, and communities. Read the Municipal Broadband Compact here and PRI’s comments to SF city here.

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Chinese officials recently announced they will no longer consider death tolls and other relevant information about natural disasters to be state secrets. On the same day, China Telecom blocked Internet phone service from Skype. That left observers wondering whether freedom is growing or decreasing in China, a tough issue for American firms. Some might argue [...]

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