Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age

by Susan P. Crawford J. D.

CNN, (i)

  Cohen, David: on after-effects of merger, (i); background of, (i); on business model used by Comcast, (i); in charge of Comcast merger strategy, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii); and FCC review of Comcast-NBCU merger, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v); on political nonpriority of telecommunications, (i); on reasonable network management, (i); on wholesale access, (i)

  Cohen, Rhonda, (i)

  College football Bowl Championship Series, (i)

  Comcast: acquisitions by, (i), (ii), (iii); alignment with Time Warner, (i); average revenue per subscriber, (i); business strategy of, (i), (ii), (iii); charitable donations of, (i); class action against in Philadelphia area (2011), (i); compared to railroad and oil barons, (i); compared to Time Warner, (i); competition potential, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v); conflict of interest in terms of country as a whole, (i); and connecting networks, (i); in consortium to buy Group W, (i); content quest of, (i); content shows prior to NBCU merger, (i); cooperation by not competing, (i); corporate governance of, (i); corporate jet owned by, (i); customer base, size of, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); Disney, attempt of Comcast to take over, (i), (ii); DOCSIS 3.0 data services, (i), (ii), (iii); financial success and profit margins of, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); and high-speed access, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); history of, (i), (ii); and Hulu, (i); limited partnerships, use of, (i); and margin squeeze, (i); and minorities, (i); monopoly of, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); as owner of sports teams, (i); power to influence TV's distribution over Internet, (i); regulatory environment posing no threat to, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii); Rendell's relationship with, (i); and retransmission fees, (i); as Roberts family company, (i); and sports programming, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v); suit against FCC over authority to regulate (2010), (i); swapping and clustering of customers, (i), (ii); technological agility of, (i), (ii); unreasonably restricting data traffic, (i); and usage-based caps, (i), (ii); Verizon Wireless cooperation with, (i), (ii), (iii); as video delivery service, (i); video viewed online, market share of, (i); and wireless access, (i); withholding practices, (i), (ii); Xbox deal with Microsoft, (i); Xfinity, (i), (ii). See also Merger of Comcast and NBCU

  Comcast SportsNet, (i)

  Committee on Cable Communications, (i)

  Common-carriage regulation, (i); AOL benefiting from, (i); attempt to bring cable industry under, (i); failure to bring cable industry under, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); and history of communications transport, (i), (ii); services not subject to, (i); and wireless networks, (i), (ii)

  Common Cause, (i)

  Common Sense Media (CSM), (i)

  Communications Workers of America, (i)

  Community antenna television systems (CATVs), (i)

  Competition: between cable-modem service and DSL, (i), (ii), (iii); Comcast neutralizing possibilities of, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); not offering protection to consumers, (i); and usage-based billing, (i). See also Independent programming

  Compuserve, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Computer industry: differentiated from data transport, (i); protection from phone industry, (i)

  Congestion pricing, (i)

  Congress: and Comcast-NBCU merger, (i); and political pressure, (i). See also House Judiciary Committee hearing; Senate Antitrust Subcommittee hearing; specific members

  Congressional Black Caucus, (i)

  Congressional Hispanic Conference, (i)

  Congressional Research Service on demand for sports programming, (i)

  Consolidated Tobacco, (i)

  Consumer advocates, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)

  Consumer Federation of America, (i)

  Consumers Union, (i), (ii)

  Content: African American–targeted programming, (i); Comcast increasing independent programming, (i); Comcast's desire for, (i); concentrated nature of industry, (i), (ii); control over preventing independent competition, (i); costs from programmers, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); as customer's top priority, (i); failure to separate from connectivity, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v); and TV Everywhere potential, (i). See also Independent programming; Merger of Comcast and NBCU; Sports programming; specific networks

  Conyers, John, (i)

  Coolidge, Calvin, (i)

  Cooper, Mark, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Copps, Michael, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, (i)

  Cox Communications, (i), (ii)

  Crédit Mobilier scandal, (i)

  CSN Philadelphia, (i)

  Customer service, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)

  Daily (iPad-only newspaper), (i)

  Danforth, John, (i)

  DeButts, John, (i)

  Defense Department, refusal to give up spectrum, (i)

  Delaney, John, (i)

  Democrats, (i), (ii)

  Deregulation: Bush agenda for, (i); cable industry, (i); Internet access services, (i), (ii); Powell agenda for, (i), (ii); present generation's predilection for, (i). See also Regulatory structure

  Deutsche Telekom, (i), (ii)

  Digital broadcast television, transition to, (i)

  Digital divide. See Rich-poor gap

  Diller, Barry, (i), (ii)

  Dillon, John, (i)

  Dimon, Jamie, (i)

  Dingell, John, (i)

  DirecTV, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Discrimination in favor of own business plans, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)

  Dish Network, (i)

  Disney. See Walt Disney Company

  Diversity. See Minorities

  Dobbin, Frank, (i)

  Doctorow, Cory, (i)

  Donovan, John, (i)

  Downstream market power, (i), (ii)

  Drawbacks, (i)

  DSL service, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii), (ix), (x), (xi)

  EarthLink, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Ebersol, Dick, (i)

  EchoStar, (i)

  E. C. Knight Co., United States v. (1895), (i)

  Edison, Thomas, (i)

  Edwards, Mickey, (i)

  Eggerton, John, (i)

  Eisner, Michael, (i)

  Electric companies, history of, (i)

  Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), (i)

  Epix, (i)

  Epstein, Richard, (i)

  ESPN, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)

  ESPN2, (i)

  European Groupe Spéciale Mobile, (i)

  Facebook, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Farmers protesting railroad charges, (i), (ii), (iii)

  FCC University, (i)

  Federal Communications Commission (FCC): access fees for online services sought by phone companies (1987), (i); ancillary jurisdiction over cable industry, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); AT&T notice of T-Mobile merger to, (i); cable-modem service considered as information service by, (i); CATVs not regulated by, (i); Comcast-NBCU merger process in, (i), (ii); comparison to ICC, (i); complaints against cable industry, (i); computer processing differentiated from data transport, (i); creation of, (i), (ii); field hearing on Comcast-NBCU merger, (i), (ii); Financial Interest and Syndication (fin-syn) Rules, (i); history of mergers before, (i); Internet Policy Statement (2005), (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); and local franchising, (i); “must carry” rules, (i), (ii); National Broadband Plan (March 2010), (i), (ii), (iii); no delegated power over Internet access, (i); “open Internet” proposed (December 2010), (i); pole attachments, lack of jurisdiction over, (i); public-interest values considered by, (i); record of filings with, (i); rejected telecommunications mergers, (i); on “specialized services,” (i), (ii); telephone service regulation (one-wire problem), (i); 30-percent rule on cable ownership of market, (i); on usage-based billing, (i)

  Federal subsidies of Internet access for rural and poor areas, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Federal Trade Commission (FTC), (i), (ii)

  Feld, Harold, (i)

  Fiber optics: benefits of, (i); compared to wireless communications, (i); costs of installing, (i); lack of incentive to upgrade, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vi
i), (viii); local connections using, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) service, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Financial Interest and Syndication (fin-syn) Rules, (i)

  First Amendment rights, (i), (ii)

  Fitzmaurice, Sena, (i)

  Flat-rate service for online access, (i)

  Fleishman, Glenn, (i)

  Flynn, John, (i)

  “Forced access,” (i), (ii)

  Forging Industrial Policy (Dobbin), (i)

  4G wireless access, (i)

  Fox, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii)

  Fox Sports, (i)

  Franchising, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)

  Franken, Al, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii)

  Free Press, (i), (ii)

  FTC. See Federal Trade Commission

  FTTH. See Fiber-to-the-home service

  FX, (i)

  Gates, Bill, (i)

  GE Capital, (i)

  Geist, Michael, (i)

  Genachowski, Julius, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (viii)

  General Accounting Office (GAO), (i), (ii), (iii)

  General Electric: and content programming, (i), (ii); history of, (i); meetings with Comcast for NBCU deal, (i); as owner of NBC, (i), (ii). See also Merger of Comcast and NBCU

  Global Crossing, (i)

  Gonzalez, Charles, (i)

  Google, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)

  Gore, Al, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Granger commissions, (i)

  Gray, William, (i)

  Great Northern Railway, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Greene, Harold, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Gross, Philip, (i)

  Group W acquisition, (i), (ii), (iii)

  GSM (Global Systems for Mobile Communications), (i), (ii)

  GTE merger with Bell Atlantic, (i), (ii)

  GTE Sprint, (i)

  Gutierrez, Luis, (i)

  Hammer, Bonnie, (i)

  Harding, Warren G., (i)

  Harlan, John Marshall, (i)

  Harriman, E. H., (i)

  Hastings, Reed, (i)

  Hatfield, Dale, (i)

  HBO, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Hepburn Act (1906), (i)

  Hesse, Dan, (i)

  Higginbotham, Stacey, (i)

  High-speed Internet access: benefits of, (i); Comcast's focus on, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); government assistance for, (i), (ii), (iii); importance for economic growth and innovation, (i); independents blocked by incumbent structure, (i), (ii); monopoly over, (i); Powell's goals, (i); pricing of, (i), (ii); recommendations for, (i); wholesale access to, (i), (ii)

  Hill, James J., (i), (ii)

  Hindery, Leo, (i), (ii)

  Hispanic Federation, (i)

  Hispanics. See Minorities

  Holder, Eric, (i)

  Holmes, Oliver Wendell, (i)

  Hot-potato routing, (i)

  House Judiciary Committee hearing (February 2010), (i)

  HR 5158 (proposed 1974), (i)

  Huber, Robert, (i)

  Hughes, Howard, (i)

  Hulu, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)

  Hundt, Reed, (i)

  Huntington, Samuel, (i)

  Huval, Terry, (i)

  Hyman, David, (i)

  Ianniello, Joe, (i)

  ICC. See Interstate Commerce Commission

  Immelt, Jeffrey, (i), (ii)

  Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA), (i)

  Independent programming: blocked by control over content, (i); blocked by high-speed access limitations, (i); Comcast's policy on, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Instant Messaging (IM) services, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Institute for Local Self-Reliance, (i)

  Internet access: as common global medium, (i); deregulation of industry, (i), (ii); FCC allowing creation of multiple communication technologies for, (i), (ii); monopolist behavior in, (i); open-access mandates, (i), (ii), (iii); public benefits of, (i). See also Cable industry; High-speed Internet access; Wireless access

  Internet Policy Statement (FCC 2005), (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Interstate commerce, (i), (ii)

  Interstate Commerce Act (1887), (i), (ii)

  Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), (i), (ii), (iii)

  iPads, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)

  iPhones, (i)

  Isaac, Mike, (i)

  ISP access: cable, (i); dial-up, (i); open-access, (i), (ii)

  iTunes, (i)

  Jackson, Jesse, (i)

  Jha, Sanjay, (i)

  JPMorgan Chase, (i)

  Justice Department: Antitrust Division, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi); blocking railway mergers (1909–1940s), (i); intervention over CSN Philadelphia access, (i); in MCI antitrust suit against AT&T, (i); monitoring programming contracts in future, (i); suit to block AT&T–T-Mobile merger, (i)

  Kagan, Elena, (i)

  Kessler, Andy, (i)

  Kilar, Jason, (i)

  Knox, Philander, (i)

  Kohl, Herb, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v)

  Koutsky, Thomas, (i)

  Labor relations, (i)

  Last-mile network providers, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)

  Ledbetter, Jim, (i)

  Lee, James B., (i)

  Lee, Sheila Jackson, (i)

  Leghorn, Richard, (i)

  Level 3 deal with Netflix, (i)

  Levin, Gerald, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Levy, Steven, (i)

  Liberty Media, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Lipton, Eric, (i)

  Lobbyists: against local fiber networks, (i); AT&T for T-Mobile merger, (i); Cohen leading, (i); Comcast's lobbying strategy for NBCU merger, (i), (ii); railroad lawyers as, (i)

  Long-distance phone service, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi)

  Los Angeles Times, (i), (ii)

  LUS Fiber, (i)

  Madison, Paula, (i)

  Maffei, Greg, (i), (ii)

  Malarkey, Martin, (i)

  Malone, John: on AOL merger, (i); on blending of connectivity and content, (i); on cable industry's growth, (i); on cable regulation, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); on Comcast's proposed merger with NBCU, (i), (ii), (iii); on Comcast's size, (i); on costs to consumers, (i); critics of, (i); on margin squeeze of cable programmers, (i); on multiple distribution channels, (i); on online video, (i); and QVC purchase, (i); on retransmission consent, (i); on Roberts and Comcast, (i), (ii); on sports programming, (i); and TCI development, (i); on vertical integration, (i); on video market, (i); on wireless, (i). See also TCI

  Mann-Elkins Act (1910), (i), (ii)

  Markey, Ed, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv)

  Martin, Kevin, (i), (ii)

  McAdam, Lowell, (i)

  MCI, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Media Action Grassroots Network, (i)

  Merger of AOL and Time Warner. See AOL–Time Warner

  Merger of AT&T and T-Mobile, (i), (ii), (iii); background of, (i); benefits of, (i); compared to Comcast-NBCU merger, (i), (ii); and competitive environment, (i); as horizontal, (i); Justice Department suit to block, (i); positive effect on AT&T, (i); and Sprint's status, (i), (ii), (iii)

  Merger of Baby Bells, (i)

  Merger of Comcast and NBCU: Antitrust Division's review, (i), (ii); approval of, (i), (ii), (iii); Comcast's strategy for, (i), (ii); compared to AOL–Time Warner merger, (i), (ii); compared to AT&T–T-Mobile merger, (i), (ii); conditions of, (i); consumer benefits of, (i), (ii); critics of, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); and fair access to Comcast programming, (i); FCC handling of, (i), (ii); financial aspects of, (i); forces leading to, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); Franken on, (i); inevitability of, (i), (ii), (iii); initial FCC filing, (i); jet purchased for related travel, (i); leading to TV Everywhere, (i), (ii); leak about, (i); lobbying for, (i); meetings of GE with Comcast, (i); minority issues raised at hearings, (i); NBC network affiliates’ reaction to, (i); political contributions, effect on, (i); pricing aspects of FCC approval, (i); public-interest advocates, defusing of, (i); and publi
c-interest commitments, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); Rendell on, (i); resulting company's business, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); resulting regulatory environment, (i); Roberts’ description of, (i), (ii), (iii); Roberts’ testimony about, (i), (ii), (iii); Rush's hearing in Chicago, (i), (ii); and Specter, (i); and sports programming, (i), (ii), (iii), (iv); supporters’ views on, (i); as symbol of U.S. flagging competition, (i); as vertical integration, (i), (ii), (iii); Waters's hearing in Los Angeles, (i), (ii)