Product Description: CLEC is an insider’s view of the rise and fall of competition in the local exchange business. Competition was legislated by Congress and funded by Wall Street. The years from 1996 to 2000 saw the creation of more than 250 facilities based companies operating in more than 100 American cities...read more

Communications markets have made much progress towards competition and deregulation in recent years. However, it is increasingly clear, in the age of the Internet and the digital revolution, that much more needs to be done, and that new approaches, both at the Federal Communications Commission and in Congress, will be required to complete the task. In this volume, the Progress and Freedom Foundation presents nine papers by communications policy experts and government policymakers that show how to finish the job of deregulating communications markets and reforming the FCC. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a landmark piece of legislation for an industry moving from a monopoly orientation towards competition, but additional steps are needed to complete the process of implementing the pro-competitive, deregulatory vision of the act. Bringing together a group of the caliber represented in this book makes possible the best recommendations about the exact nature of those necessary changes. In this volume, the most difficult and politically-charged hot-button issues involving local and long distance competition, universal service, spectrum allocation, program content regulation, and the public interest doctrine are confronted head-on. As importantly, the authors recommend specific reform proposals to be considered by the Federal Communications Commission and Congress. The ideas contained in the experts' essays were presented and debated at a conference hosted by The Progress & Freedom Foundation, which was held in Washington, DC, on December 8, 2000. The Progress & Freedom Foundation studies the impact of the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It conducts research in fields such as electronic commerce, telecommunications and the impact of the Internet on government, society and economic growth. It also studies issues such as the need to reform government regulation, especially in technology-intensive fields such as medical innovation, energy and environmental regulation.

Communications markets have made much progress towards competition and deregulation in recent years. However, it is increasingly clear, in the age of the Internet and the digital revolution, that much more needs to be done, and that new approaches, both at the Federal Communications Commission and in Congress, will be required to complete the task. In this volume, the Progress and Freedom Foundation presents nine papers by communications policy experts and government policymakers that show how to finish the job of deregulating communications markets and reforming the FCC. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was a landmark piece of legislation for an industry moving from a monopoly orientation towards competition, but additional steps are needed to complete the process of implementing the pro-competitive, deregulatory vision of the act. Bringing together a group of the caliber represented in this book makes possible the best recommendations about the exact nature of those necessary changes. In this volume, the most difficult and politically-charged hot-button issues involving local and long distance competition, universal service, spectrum allocation, program content regulation, and the public interest doctrine are confronted head-on. As importantly, the authors recommend specific reform proposals to be considered by the Federal Communications Commission and Congress. The ideas contained in the experts' essays were presented and debated at a conference hosted by The Progress & Freedom Foundation, which was held in Washington, DC, on December 8, 2000. The Progress & Freedom Foundation studies the impact of the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It conducts research in fields such as electronic commerce, telecommunications and the impact of the Internet on government, society and economic growth. It also studies issues such as the need to reform government regulation, especially in technology-intensive fields such as medical innovation, energy and environmental regulation.

Analyzes the communications policies of the United States and examines the effects of deregulation on the future of telecommunications and the media

'Examines how the 1996 Telecommunications Act and its antecedents have affected the major telecommunications providers and analyzes the act's effect on economic welfare in the United States'--Provided by publisher.

Product Description: According to this book, the anticipated benefits of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 are proving elusive, as competiton has been slow to rise, and government agencies have been slow to implement the deregulation and market-opening processes specified in the new law...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: A survival guide for the telecommunications managers and technical personnel, this text analyzes the impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and offers advice for industry giants as well as newcomers to the market. The author discusses industry trends in service and technology before dissecting the Telecom Act and its impact on the market place...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

In 1984, the Department of Justice settled its antitrust case against AT&T. The agreement, embedded in the Modification of Final Judgment, led to a divestiture of the local telephone exchanges from AT&T to the Regional Bell Operating Companies (known as the Baby Bells ). This agreement gave unprecedented power over a major US industry to one man, Judge Harold Greene of the US District Court of the District of Columbia. The Baby Bells could not enter any line of business without approval from Judge Greene. With technological change it became increasingly desirable for the Baby Bells to enter different lines of business, but each attempt was subject to legal challenge and lengthy, costly litigation. In 1994, the Baby Bells mounted a major legal challenge to the Modification of Final Judgement (MFJ). As part of their strategy, they asked leading scholars in the field to examine the costs and benefits of the MFJ and provide evidence in the form of affidavits regarding its effect. Using a cost-benefit framework, the conclusion of the analysis is that the MFJ should be vacated and competition should be allowed in the industry. Deregulating Telecommunications draws together a group of leading practitioners and academics in the fields of regulation, industrial organisation and antitrust to explore: * A cost-benefit analysis of the 1984 AT&T antitrust settlement * Theoretical and empirical studies that analyse the results of the settlement from its inception in 1984 to 1994 * An explanation for the recent policy decisions to reduce the amount of regulation in telecommunications * Analysis vital to predicting the results of any deregulation in telecommunications in the future This book will prove invaluable to economists interested in telecommunications, as well as those interested in antitrust and in regulation.

Deregulating Telecommunications critically examines the transition from monopoly to competition in the U.S. and Canadian telecommunications industries. Accessibly written with a minimum of technical language, this thorough yet concise book looks at the history of the telephone industry, its regulation, and over a century of related public policy. Featured are discussions of the roles of public sector institutions, private sector actors, and processes and policies concerning rates, subsidies, licensing, and rules governing interconnection of networks, among other key issues. This valuable comparative analysis shows the U.S. influence on Canadian policy, offers insights on the policymaking processes in both countries, and moves us toward a better critical understanding of the contemporary telecommunications environment. (view table of contents)

Product Description: This book addresses deregulatory policies that threaten to reduce or destroy the value of private property in network industries without any accompanying payment of just compensation, policies that are termed "deregulatory takings...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Telecommunications policy profoundly affects the economy and our everyday lives. Yet accounts of important telecommunications issues tend to be either superficial (and inaccurate) or mired in jargon and technical esoterica. In Digital Crossroads, Jonathan Nuechterlein and Philip Weiser offer a clear, balanced, and accessible analysis of competition policy issues in the telecommunications industry...read more

Product Description: Michael Crew and David Parker have compiled a comprehensive, up-to-date and detailed analytical work on leading research issues in the economics of regulation. With contributions from international specialists in economic regulation, the Handbook provides a comprehensive discussion of major developments in both the theory and practice of regulatory economics...read more

Product Description: Deregulation was a political buzzword of the early 1980's. The Reagan Administration came to power on a platform dedicated to getting government "off the backs of the people." Deregulation promised to lower inflation, raise productivity, and reverse the sagging fortunes of American industry...read more

Product Description: Over the last several years, the value of stocks in both the airline and the telecommunications industries have dropped catastrophically. Since these industries were among the most important—and most visible—to have been unleashed from regulation in recent decades (albeit in widely differing degree), their difficulties have raised the question of whether their deregulation should be reconsidered or even reversed...read more

Product Description: The Telecommunications Act of 1996 promised us deregulation and free markets in the telephone, broadcast, and cable TV industry. But critics assail the Act from all sides and the Federal Communications Commission has grown larger than ever. (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Uncontrolled deregulation of the telecommunications industry in the mid-1990's caused many businesspeople - honest and dishonest - to propose, fund, and carry out ventures designed to change the way the telecommunications industry worked...read more

Product Description: The Telecommunications Act of 1996 envisioned a competitive free-for-all in the U.S. telecommunications industry with removal of barriers to entry in local telecommunications markets and the lifting of the artificial restrictions that kept the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) out of the interLATA long-distance market...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

This text captures the effects of alternative telecommunications technologies offering access to the switched telephone networks in the marketplace for local telecommunications services.

Product Description: Presenting a full interpretation of the law concerning telecommunications deregulation, this volume evaluates the US Telecommunications Reform Act of 1996 in its entirety and addresses the economic implications for prospective market restructuring, impending competition and strategic planning...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)