Issues

Reflecting on the 1996 Act

The 1996 Telecommunications Act was intended to open communications markets to competition. Legislators did not foresee the role that the Internet and wireless service would play in increasing competition; instead, they emphasized the importance of local telephone networks.

The Death of Antitrust Safe Harbors: Causes and Consequences

In the 1980s and 1990s, antitrust courts ruled that some business behavior would be presumed legal under antitrust case law and merger guidelines, creating “safe harbors.” In the twenty-first century, most of those safe harbors have disappeared.

Pipelines, Platforms, and the New Rules of Strategy

Many businesses are “pipelines” that channel goods or services to consumers. Today, pipelines face competition from a new business model, the platform. Platforms provide opportunities for consumers and producers to interact, just as Uber connects drivers and passengers.

Platform Revolution

Platforms are businesses that serve two groups of users, as eBay serves both sellers and buyers. Platforms produce many benefits for society, but disrupt traditional markets. Managers must adopt new strategies to succeed in these markets.

Network Neutrality and Quality of Service: What a Non-Discrimination Rule Should Look Like

Net neutrality rules stop Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from blocking online content; nondiscrimination rules limit interference short of blocking. Nondiscrimination rules should ban discrimination against specific applications and broad categories of applications.

Exporting Standards: The Externalization of the EU's Regulatory Power via Markets

The European Union (EU) exports power and influence to the rest of the world through its legal institutions and standards. Global commerce has become “Europeanized.” This trend is an inadvertent byproduct of the EU’s effort to create a single market, not “regulatory imperialism.”

Competition Policy and Free Trade: Antitrust Provisions in PTAs

Why do preferential trade agreements (PTAs) include terms concerning antitrust or competition policy? Some argue that governments use competition policy to protect local firms against foreign competition. A better theory is that trade makes it hard for national authorities to enforce competition policy.

The Microsoft Antitrust Cases: Competition Policy for the Twenty-First Century

Microsoft rose to dominance in the 1980s, like IBM and Intel. Between 1990 and 2009, authorities in the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) carried out antitrust actions against Microsoft. The outcome shows that competition law is relevant to the fast-changing high-tech sector.

Does Service Bundling Reduce Churn?

This study considers whether firms that sell telecommunications services as a bundle find it easier to retain customers. The data shows that bundling does reduce “churn” for pay television, broadband, and telephone service.

Standard-Essential Patents

This paper proposes a solution to the problem of inefficient license pricing for patents included in standards.