Ahem, FCC, who do you think you are? The FTC?

It was Dish, not Directv

Who used shill bidders in the form of small companies to save $3 billion. It looks like the FCC has told them they can't do that, so Dish will have to pay the extra $3 billion after all.

"the [..] system of approving rules and then not letting anyone [..] see them for 30 days"

It is high time we get used to the fact that the Internet is a global resource and any decision that pertains to it must be available globally as well, without hindrance or delays.

Take all the time you need to make the decision, by all means, but once made, that decision should be public immediately, no later, and the implementation date (after the publication date, obviously) clear and available.

It's like traffic regulations. No one would think of changing the regulations that concern hundreds of millions of people every day without warning them in advance, right ?

Well the Internet concerns BILLIONS of people every day. You damn well better warn them in advance and not hide anything from them.

It's a sad, frustrating, disgraceful situation

IMO, the FCC and FTC are both so incompetent, unscrupulous, inept and removed from reality that these people and their decision are disgraceful and mostly contrary to the desires and rights of the populace. More often than not the FCC and FTC do nothing to stop consumer fraud by cable/telcos and others under their regulation. These agencies encourage criminal activity by failing to punish criminal companies who exploit consumers in violation of law. What is the point of having an FCC and FTC if they work against the populace and for big business? Is that what they believe their sworn oat to the public is?