Free Market Organizations Warn President Bush Massive New FCC Regulations Will Harm Consumers, Cable Industry

Free Market Organizations Warn President Bush Massive New FCC Regulations Will Harm Consumers, Cable Industry

DALLAS, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a letter to President Bush, the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI), joined by eight other national, free-market public policy organizations, voiced concern that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) may be "imposing a massive new regulatory apparatus" on the cable industry.

The letter warns the President that more regulations "could undermine the ability of the broader telecommunications sector to innovate products and services, harming millions of hard-working consumers and potentially damaging the U.S. economy."

News reports indicate the FCC may consider taking action on the "70/70 rule," a provision of 1984 Cable Act, opening the door for the agency to heavily regulate the video marketplace.

But Bartlett Cleland, Director of IPI Center for Technology Freedom, says the provision is an archaic rule that assumes government knows best how to manage market outcomes.

"Nothing brings better service and a greater variety of products at better prices than market competition," said Cleland. "The FCC should not use incomplete surveys and out of context price point data as justification for its industrial policy expansion."

A motivation for the "70/70" provision may also be to put the heat on the cable industry and ultimately all video providers to adopt "a la carte" pricing models, which would only further increase prices, limit consumer choice and damage advertising revenue for many quality programmers.

The letter concluded by asking President Bush to "reaffirm preference for free market solutions versus command-and-control regulations to the FCC."

In addition to IPI, other signatories to the letter include Americans for Prosperity, Americans for Tax Reform, Citizens Against Government Waste, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Media Freedom Project, Frontiers of Freedom Institute, The Institute for Liberty and Reason Foundation.

The Institute for Policy Innovation is a national, non-profit public policy organization based in Dallas, Texas. Experts are available for interview by contacting Erin Fitch at (972) 874-5139 or erinfitch@ipi.org.

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Source: Institute for Policy Innovation

CONTACT: Erin Fitch of the Institute for Policy Innovation,
+1-972-874-5139, erinfitch@ipi.org

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