- FCC’s Carr bragged about the ways he cut down telecom regulations in his first 100 days
- But DEI scrutiny and merger delays challenge his deregulatory claims
- Carr has yet to move the needle on permitting reform
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is taking a victory lap for the moves it’s made thus far to cut down telecom regulations – even if they actually weren’t all deregulatory.
Sure, FCC chief Brendan Carr said in his first 100 days he’s made it easier for operators to retire copper networks (but not entirely), prioritized more spectrum usage, saved taxpayers $463 million by “ending wasteful agency contracts,” the list goes on.
Of course, we can’t forget the initiative the FCC launched to identify the Commission rules that are ripe for repeal. The public as of April 30 submitted nearly 900 comments telling the FCC exactly what they think should go.
Indeed, there is “significant deregulatory rhetoric” coming from the Trump administration, Congress and the FCC, said New Street Policy Analyst Blair Levin in a note Wednesday.
“The reality is that one person’s deregulatory initiative often involves regulating others,” he said.
Take for example the administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). While Carr ended the FCC’s promotion of DEI, he also investigated companies like Comcast and Verizon for their diversity practices.
The FCC hasn’t made it any easier to get M&A approval, either. T-Mobile had to update its DEI policy to seal the deal on its Lumos fiber acquisition and the carrier is still waiting for the Commission to approve its deal with USCellular. Verizon’s pending $20 billion Frontier purchase could face similar hurdles to get across the regulatory finish line.
Regarding T-Mobile/USCellular, Levin noted the FCC is already on day 179 of its 180-day informal merger review clock. Given how Carr signed off on the T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint without any conditions, “it is difficult to understand how he would find a material risk to competition in the current and much smaller deal,” he said.
Side note, the FCC mentioned its return-to-office mandate for employees as one of the ways it’s “eliminating needless regulation and delivering efficient results.” We’re not exactly sure how that falls under the deregulation umbrella, but it’s there.
FCC permitting reform still on hold
Something Carr hasn’t done too much of yet is permitting reform for telecom infrastructure projects.
The FCC in February did axe a proposal that would have required broadband providers to follow stricter environmental guidelines to build new cell towers. But that’s been it for now.
The White House earlier this month unleased an executive order geared toward streamlining federal permitting, however the order doesn’t explicitly mention broadband, nor does it touch upon the issues most pertinent to service providers, such as pole attachments.
That being said, “we expect Carr will advance permitting rules preempting state and local fees and application processes,” Levin said. When that will happen is anyone’s guess.