For the first time ever, incumbent telephone companies have sustained back-to-back quarterly declines in the absolute number of wireline-based broadband subscribers. A new study from our organization, the American Consumer Institute, shows that regulations are a contributing factor to this drop — and also helped to cause the re-concentration of the wireline broadband market in recent years.
The study details the sordid history of broadband regulations and shows that, as industry regulations have increased or decreased, so has market concentration. It provides empirical evidence for something economists have been saying for a long time: Regulations can impede investment and reduce consumer benefits…
To read the entire article, please visit Real Clear Policy.