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Telecommunications Regulation: An Introduction

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Author Info
Nicholas Economides () (Stern School of Business, NYU)

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Abstract

This paper examines the justifications, history, and practice of regulation in the US telecommunications sector. We examine the impact of technological and regulatory change on market structure and business strategy. Among others, we discuss the emergence and decline of the telecom bubble, the impact on pricing of digitization and the emergence of Internet telephony (VOIP). We also examine the impact of the 1996 Telecommunications Act on market structure and strategy in conjunction with the history of regulation and antitrust intervention in the telecommunications sector. After discussing the impact of wireless technologies, we conclude by venturing into some short term predictions. We express concern about the derailment of the implementation of the 1996 Act by the aggressive legal tactics of the entrenched monopolists (the local exchange carriers), and we point to the real danger that the intent of Congress in passing the 1996 Act to promote competition in telecommunications will never be realized in local telecommunications in the fashion that the 1996 prescribed. The decision of AT&T to stop marketing both long distance and local services to residential customers is a direct result of the derailing of the 1996 Act that has allowed the local service monopolists (i) to enter long distance while the local market was still monopolized; and (ii) to leverage their monopoly power in the local market to the long distance market. We also discuss the wave of mergers in the Telecommunications and cable industries, the telecom meltdown of 2000-2003, and issues that arose from the triennial review by the FCC of implementation of the 1996 Act.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by NET Institute in its series Working Papers with number 04-20.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 46 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2004
Date of revision: Aug 2004
Handle: RePEc:net:wpaper:0420

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Web page: http://www.NETinst.org/

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Related research
Keywords: telecommunications; regulation; competition; monopoly; oligopoly; Internet; broadband; DSL; unbundling;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure and Pricing

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Nicholas Economides & Giuseppe Lopomo & Glenn Woroch, 1997. "Regulatory Pricing Policies to Neutralize Network Dominance," Industrial Organization 9612003, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  2. Economides, Nicholas, 1996. "The economics of networks," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 14(6), pages 673-699, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Economides, Nicholas, 1998. "The incentive for non-price discrimination by an input monopolist," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 271-284, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Economides, Nicholas, 1999. "The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and its impact1," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 455-483, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Nicholas Economides & Lawrence J. White, 1995. "Access and Interconnection Pricing: How Efficient is the Efficient Component Pricing Rule?," Working Papers 95-04, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Nicholas Economides, 1999. "Real Options and the Costs of the Local Telecommunications Network," Working Papers 99-11, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Vogelsang, Ingo, 2004. "Network Utilities in the U.S. -- Sector Reforms without Privatization," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  2. Nicholas Economides & V. Brian Viard & Katja Seim, 2005. "Quantifying the Benefits of Entry into Local Phone Service," Working Papers 05-08, NET Institute, revised Nov 2005. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Nicholas Economides, 2007. "“Net Neutrality,” Non-Discrimination and Digital Distribution of Content Through the Internet," Working Papers 07-03, NET Institute, revised Mar 2007. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Nicholas Economides, 2006. "Public Policy in Network Industries," Working Papers 06-17, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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