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Communication

Rob Frieden

Selected Works

Administrative Law

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 3 of 3

Full-Text Articles in Law

Case Studies In Abandoned Empiricism And The Lack Of Peer Review, Rob M. Frieden Jan 2009

Case Studies In Abandoned Empiricism And The Lack Of Peer Review, Rob M. Frieden

Rob Frieden

In far too many instances, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) engages in results-driven decision making that accrues political dividends at the expense of the public interest. Remarkably, the Commission has used questionable and unverifiable statistics to confirm both the need for greater regulation, but also its abandonment. In the former, a former Chairman of the FCC insisted that data, not even compiled by Commission staff, proved that the cable television market had become so concentrated as to meet a Congressionally legislated trigger for heightened regulatory scrutiny. But in the latter, the FCC has used its statistics to support the conclusion …


Incentivize Me!—How Incumbent Carriers In The United States Attempt To Extract Greater Deregulation And Incentives In Exchange For Making Next Generation Network Investments, Rob M. Frieden Jan 2009

Incentivize Me!—How Incumbent Carriers In The United States Attempt To Extract Greater Deregulation And Incentives In Exchange For Making Next Generation Network Investments, Rob M. Frieden

Rob Frieden

Incumbent carriers often vilify the regulatory process as a drain on efficiency and an unnecessary burden in light of robust marketplace competition. Some claim that regulation creates disincentives for investing in expensive next generation networks (“NGNs”), particularly if regulations mandate unbundling of services into composite parts, with burdensome interconnection and below market pricing of access by competitors. Both incumbents, prospective market entrants and recent market entrants may seek to tilt the competitive playing field to their advantage typically by securing a regulatory sanction that helps them reduce investment costs, delay having to make an investment, or secure a competitive advantage …


Lies, Damn Lies And Statistics: Developing A Clearer Assessment, Rob M. Frieden Jan 2008

Lies, Damn Lies And Statistics: Developing A Clearer Assessment, Rob M. Frieden

Rob Frieden

Depending on the source one can conclude that United States consumers enjoy access to a robustly competitive and nearly ubiquitous marketplace for inexpensive broadband Internet access, or they suffer the consequences of a tightly concentrated industry offering inferior service at high rates. On one hand, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (“NTIA”) and some sponsored researchers offer a quite sanguine outlook, possibly influenced by their appreciation for the political and public relations dividends in compiling positive results. On the other hand, other statistical compilations and interpretations show the U.S. behind in terms of market penetration …