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With the
election over and the Bush administration in place for
another four years, significant impacts on the media
industry are inevitable. Some areas likely to see
changes are media consolidation, technological
development, regulatory oversight and broadband rollout.
Most experts
predict the FCC will again introduce regulatory reforms
aimed at allowing greater consolidation of media
ownership – including rules governing when and if
companies can own, in a single market, two TV stations,
both TV and radio stations, and both TV stations and
newspapers.
On the
technology front, expect to see action regarding the
development of VoIP (voice over Internet protocol).
Administration officials, as well as top FCC regulators,
have said they prefer a deregulatory approach to rules
governing telephone services over the Internet.
The
Telecommunications Act of 1996 will likely be overhauled
by Congress in the next year or two. The landmark law,
which reshaped the regulatory landscape, has come under
heavy assault in both regulatory decisions and court
rulings. The FCC is also expected to release new
wholesale long-distance rates that will be more
favorable to the regional Bells than would have been the
case had John Kerry won.
While both
Bush and Kerry had outlined broadband policies for the
next four years (see article), with Bush pledging to
make it ubiquitous by 2007, observers expect a more
relaxed regulatory stance with some incentives thrown in
– a policy that will be under intense scrutiny.
The end
result may well be larger, more consolidated companies
moving faster under less regulatory oversight. |
