Democrats Propose Rules to Break up Broadband Monopolies
The Democratic party this week released a new party platform -- one that proposes new rules that could break up existing broadband monopolies and put an end to often-mindless mergers and consolidation in the telecom space. The proposal was part of a rebranding of the party after its repeated failures in state and federal elections. The proposed rules would also require that regulators look at mergers after they're completed to see if they served the public interest.
Democrats have been inconsistent on this subject in years' past.
While the Obama administration did block AT&T's acquisition of T-Mobile (to obvious benefit to consumers), the administration also approved Charter's $79 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, which ultimately drove up costs for consumers and resulted in even worse customer service.
There's also the fact that as the minority party, they likely realize there's a snowball's chance in hell of such a platform being implemented anytime soon. Still, Democrats are hoping that a more consumer-centric, anti-monopoly message will resonate with voters that have found their previous election choices from both parties not particularly in tune with their interests.
https://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Democrats-Propose-Rules-to-Break-up-Broadband-Monopolies-140006