Law Commons^™

Toward Meaningful Cable Competition: Getting Beyond The Monopoly Morass, Reza Dibadj

Reza Dibadj

This article argues that poor regulation has thwarted competition among cable providers. It begins by laying out the history of cable regulation to show that the regulatory framework was created by a series of ad hoc, often contradictory, policies. It then surveys the markets for video programming and broadband access to show that precious little competition exists today. Moving to an economic analysis of the industry, it highlights the surprising irony that despite years of anti-competitive maneuvering, even the incumbent players are facing financial uncertainty. The paper also proposes a new regulatory paradigm based on economic and technological reality. Finally, …