Insights from CCT Adjunct Professor and FCC Senior Legal Advisor, Adonis Hoffman
The Communications, Media and Technology Landscape in 2015
The business of media, communications and technology has risen to the top of the agenda on Capitol Hill and in the capital markets. Today, convergence, consolidation and competition in communications and media are driving not only a wealth of choices for consumers, but also a wave of innovation and investment in the U.S. and abroad. The government is considering new rules to preserve an open Internet–so called “Net Neutrality”– and the consequences of its action will be felt globally.
Not unrelated, the proposed mergers of (1) Comcast and Time Warner Cable, and (2) ATT and DirecTV, have stirred considerable public reaction, with the outcome sure to shape the broadband market for decades to come. The government also is planning to auction an unprecedented amount of broadcast and wireless spectrum, valued at hundreds of billions of dollars, at the same time as rules governing video, voice and data are being revamped. New technologies are springing up to meet the growing consumer demand for content at their own control, and old models are being disrupted.
Not insignificantly, a newly-constituted Congress promises to review, and possibly write anew, the sweeping 1996 Communications Act–an effort that will affect millions of Americans and billions of dollars in the global economy. At the center of these developments is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), an independent regulatory agency, led by five presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed commissioners.
CCT Adjunct Professor, and FCC Senior Legal Advisor, Adonis Hoffman (new window), continues to meet with consumer groups, investors, Internet and media companies, thought leaders, analysts, lawyers, and the media, on these issues. Hoffman will be monitoring and analyzing key developments throughout the year, and promises to share those insights with the CCT community on an ongoing basis.
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