Viewpoints
Uncertainty chills market innovation. That’s why leaving the FCC’s MTE Proceeding open sends the wrong message.
By: Kevin Donnelly, RETTC and Valerie M. Sargent, Broadband Communities
Back in 2017, the FCC opened GN Docket No. 17-142, also known as the Multiple Tenant Environment (MTE) Proceeding.
In theory, this proceeding started with a laudable goal: to examine how broadband and cable providers serve apartment buildings, condos, student housing, and senior communities, and decide whether new rules were needed to “increase competition.” All of that sounds good in theory, but in practice the docket became a catch-all opportunity for a lot of bad ideas.
Far from improving consumer welfare, many of the policy ideas pursued under this docket would have left consumers paying higher prices for lower-quality service with fewer options to choose from.
Eight years, 30 declarations, zero unanswered questions
Since the start of the MTE Proceeding, the rental housing industry – represented by the Real Estate Technology & Transformation Center’s (RETTC) partner, the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) – worked to flood the record with facts. And although RETTC was created only last year, the organization hit the ground running with comments and data to show why the proposals under this docket weren’t good for consumers.
In total, the multifamily industry submitted:
- 30 sworn declarations from property owners, broadband executives, and technical experts,
showing how the FCC’s proposals were rooted in misunderstandings of the industry and industry
economics - Two industry-wide surveys proving that robust competition was the norm among broadband
providers competing for customers in multifamily buildings - Case studies and data showing that bulk billing (and other agreements negotiated between
housing and broadband providers) often cut resident bills by half and serve as a workable model
(if the only workable model) for extending broadband service to disadvantaged communities
Now, after eight years, there is no active Notice of Proposed Rulemaking left in the docket. This is for good reason, too. Earlier this year, Chairman Brendan Carr withdrew the last and most controversial item: a proposal introduced under the prior administration to restrict bulk billing.
You’ll remember when we informed you of all the work and advocacy being done on this issue in one of our multiple Broadband Communities articles, seen here.
The Commission examined the issues underlying this proposal in the past and found that no market failure existed and that indeed bulk billing increased competition, reduced prices, and encouraged the expansion of broadband service.
Chairman Carr, heeding the evidence, wisely removed this proposal from the docket.
Why leaving the docket open hurts renters
In April of this year, we informed you about the FCC’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” proceeding in a previous article. In this particular proceeding, the FCC has been seeking comment on “deregulatory initiatives that would facilitate and encourage American firms’ investment in modernizing their networks, developing infrastructure, and offering innovative and advanced capabilities.”
NMHC and RETTC have continued their ongoing push to reduce unnecessary red tape in the connectivity space.
Although there’s nothing left for the FCC to consider under the MTE Proceeding, keeping it open sends mixed messages to the market.
Uncertainty about whether key regulatory issues are truly closed “once and for all” can chill market innovation. Special interests and misinformed activists take advantage of this uncertainty to press the FCC to revisit ideas already disproved multiple times. Finally, state policymakers look to the FCC for guidance and leadership, and some will take the wrong message from the fact that the MTE Proceeding remains open.
Don’t look back
Regarding the state of competition in the multifamily broadband market, the record is abundantly clear.
Most consumers have ample choice, and that will only improve with time. The only caveat is that things can change (and not for the better) if the FCC or other policymakers step in with well-meaning but poorly designed regulations.
Both housing and broadband providers are acutely aware of this, and keeping the MTE Proceeding open does nothing to allay their concerns or encourage additional investment to expand broadband access.
That’s why RETTC and NMHC will continue advocating that this docket be formally closed so that policymakers and the industry can look forward to a future of heightened investment, rapid innovation, and a much narrower digital divide.
Kevin Donnelly is Executive Director and Chief Advocacy Officer for the Real Estate Technology & Transformation Center (RETTC) and can be reached at kdonnelly@rettc.org.
Valerie M. Sargent is a multifamily speaker, trainer and executive consultant, and is the multifamily news correspondent for Broadband Communities. Contact Valerie M. Sargent at her website.
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