The FCC must enforce the law to ensure inclusion. There are numerous egregious examples of how the industry has been exclusive rather than inclusive. Historically, the Commission has been a co-conspirator in this practice of exclusion by awarding licenses to a select and small group of communications companies. These facts make a big, ugly statement about America. Competition among a small group of companies targeted at a small segment of our society is not real competition.
Competition is meaningful only when it breaks down barriers to entry and expands the market.
Competition is meaningful only when telecommunications firms deploy facilities to all parts of society and compete for every customer not just the business customer or the affluent residential customer. Commissioners, you must dig beneath the surface of each merger application to discover whether these companies are joining forces to improve customer service and the role of workers or merely to protect their territories and make larger profits. In addition to evaluating the competitive effects of proposed mergers, the Commission must also consider other factors. Discrimination is a factor fundamental to the FCC s public interest review. Minorities and rural Americans pay taxes, contribute to the Social Security system, vote, and are consumers.