Senate Antitrust Panel Unveils Agenda
Senate Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and the panel's top Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, on Wednesday unveiled their agenda for the 111th Congress. Among their ambitious list of issues are some high-tech gems.
• Kohl intends to continue his inquiry into the cause of sharp price increases for text messaging. From 2006 to 2008, the four leading cell phone providers doubled the per message cost of text messaging, from 10 to 20 cents per message.
• The subcommittee will continue to examine competition in the consolidating Internet and related online advertising industry with particular attention to deals like Google's purchase of DoubleClick and the now-abandoned Google-Yahoo ad partnership.
• Members want to examine competition in the broadband industry and the issue of "network neutrality" while monitoring whether consumers continue to have the freedom to access the Internet content they wish.
• The panel will examine media consolidation; rising cable television rates; and increased competition in the cable and satellite TV market as well as playing a role in the renewal of the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act.
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