Rural Broadband Buildout: How the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Anti-Competitive Practices Collided in the 5G Fund Proceeding
Document Type
Event
Publication Date
1-25-2022
Abstract
On January 25, 2022, this year’s Student Scholar Series kicked off with a presentation given by Catholic Law third-year student Kelly Laughlin. Laughlin’s work entitled, Rural Broadband Buildout: How the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Anti-Competitive Practices Collided in the 5G Fund Proceeding, examines rural broadband expansion at the center of the FCC policy agenda—acknowledging the inherent difficulties of rural broadband buildout while also showing a lack of strong incentive structure on the part of the FCC to support their policy goals.
Laughlin first became interested in the topic while working on consulting projects on the Sprint/T-Mobile merger prior to starting law school. During that time, she started to see a connection between telecommunications network buildout and large mergers in this sector. Through her research, Laughlin discusses how the FCC’s approach to approving large telecommunications mergers has impacted rural broadband buildout efforts. She argues that the Commission has entrusted the private sector to build networks in rural areas without the proper incentive structure in place to ensure that rural customers receive broadband access. In particular, her note discusses how the recent T-Mobile/Sprint merger was approved alongside rural broadband conditions, but the FCC has decided to allow T-Mobile to continue receiving support from Universal Service programs like the 5G Fund for Rural America.
Recommended Citation
Laughlin, Kelly, "Rural Broadband Buildout: How the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Anti-Competitive Practices Collided in the 5G Fund Proceeding" (2022). Student Scholar Series. 39.
https://scholarship.law.edu/student_scholar/39