The Tech Antitrust Problem No One Is Talking About

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The new fervor for tech antitrust has so far overlooked an equally obvious target: US broadband providers.

A Microsoft study estimated last year that as many as 162.8 million Americans lack meaningful broadband, and New America’s Open Technology Institute recently found that US consumers pay, on average, more than those in Europe, Asia, or elsewhere in North America.

For tens of millions of Americans, changing broadband providers is even more difficult—it requires moving.

The 1996 Telecom Act included rules for phone providers aimed at encouraging competition, but it excluded “information services,” leaving broadband companies freer rein.

Gigi Sohn, fellow, Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy.

US internet providers say the American broadband market is doing just fine, and that the digital divide is closing.

The Government Accountability Office and two of the agency’s own commissioners have questioned the FCC’s methodology for measuring broadband access, saying it paints an artificially rosy picture of the US market.

Joshua Stager, a senior policy counsel at New America's Open Technology Institute, would also expect a Democratic-controlled Congress to consider expanding subsidized broadband programs during the pandemic.