#242: Hybrid Networks and the Future of Wireless

Tech Policy Podcast

TechFreedom

Technology

4.8 • 46 Ratings

🗓️ 26 November 2018

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The proposed merger of Sprint and T-Mobile raised a plethora of concerns from both regulators and the general public. In response, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) welcomed comments on the proposed merger to evaluate the benefits and potential harms of the proposed New T-Mobile. Although the anti-competitive analysis was quite extensive, it was incomplete as the FCC declined to include the role of Hybrid Mobile Network Operators (HMNOs) on the market for mobile wireless services. Today, Michelle P. Connolly, Professor of the Practice in the Economics Department at Duke University, is here to discuss her recent report on the role of HMNOs and why the FCC should have broadened its definition of the mobile telephony and broadband market to account for HMNOs, as this narrow scope accurately reflects how the market is satisfying consumer demand for mobile broadband services.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the tech policy podcast. I've sent Ash back to Russia for an indeterminate period and have taken over the show. This is Barron Soka, Tech Freedom. I'm sure Ash will be back for the next episode. But I'm here today with a special guest. We're here to talk about the state of the wireless marketplace.
0:22.1	The proposed merger of Sprint and T-Mobile has raised many concerns from both regulators and the general public.
0:27.1	The FCC has taken comments on the merger and tried to evaluate what the role of a new T-Mobile would look like among many of the issues that have been discussed.
0:36.0	It was not really discussed how the FCC should
0:39.0	evaluate the role of new companies that are entering the market for wireless services, most
0:44.1	notably what are being called hybrid mobile network operators. Those are HMNOs in case you're
0:49.9	following from home. What that means for wireless services. So today on the show we have with us,
0:55.1	Dr. Michelle Conley, professor in the practice of economics at Duke University, my alma mater, very good
1:00.4	economics department, to discuss her recent report on those hybrid mobile network operators and why
1:06.1	the FCC should look at those and thinking about the state of mobile telephony and how to deal with
1:11.1	competition in the marketplace. So Dr. Conley, welcome to the show. Thank you. And I hear you have a
1:16.6	special talent. I'm a dancer, not an exotic dancer. Okay. Well, we've had a few of those on the show in
1:22.9	the past. So ballet, I assume. Well, that's more kinesthetic ability than I have, probably more than our former male host of this podcast had.
1:35.4	We're not the most talented people.
1:37.9	We're also not economists.
1:39.3	I studied economics at Duke.
1:40.9	I know a little bit about the market.
1:43.0	And I understand that it's important
1:44.6	to think dynamically about who's competing in the marketplace today. So just by way of introduction,
1:51.4	I use Project Fi. So Project Fi is what's called a mobile virtual network operator. They resell
1:56.8	the capacity of Sprint and T-Mobile to provide me service. They also buy Wi-Fi hotspot
2:05.0	capacity from some Wi-Fi operators so I can use that Wi-Fi hotspot. They have a white
	...

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