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The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and its impact1

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  • Economides, Nicholas

Abstract

This paper analyzes the effects on the implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 ("Act") on US telecommunications markets and is based on my forthcoming book with the same title. The Act is a milestone in the history of telecommunications in the United States. Coming 12 years after the breakup of AT&T, the Act attempts to move all telecommunications markets toward competition. The Act envisions competition in all telecommunications markets, both in the markets for the various elements that comprise the telecommunications network, as well as for the final services the network creates. Building on the experience of the long distance market, which was transformed from a monopoly to an effectively competitive market over the last 12 years, the Act attempts to promote competition in the hitherto monopolized local exchange markets. The Act recognizes the telecommunications network as a network of interconnected networks. Telecommunications providers are required to interconnect with entrants at any feasible point the entrant wishes. Most importantly, the Act requires that incumbent local exchange carriers ("ILECs") (i) lease parts of their network (unbundled network elements) to competitors "at cost"; (ii) provide at a wholesale discount to competitors any service the ILEC provides; and (iii) charge reciprocal rates in termination of calls to their network and to networks of local competitors. Moreover, the Act requires that ILECs that came out of the Bell System meet a number of requirements, including a public interest test, before they may enter into the long distance market. Thus, the Act provides some safeguards against the export of ILEC monopoly power to other parts of the network. Numerous legal challenges to the Act and its implementation have been raised by the ILECs resulting in very slow implementation of the Act, and, in many cases, in no substantial implementation of the provisions of the Act. Thus, more than two year
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Suggested Citation

  • Economides, Nicholas, 1999. "The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and its impact1," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 455-483, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:japwor:v:11:y:1999:i:4:p:455-483
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    1. Hausman, Jerry & Tardiff, Timothy & Belinfante, Alexander, 1993. "The Effects of the Breakup of AT&T on Telephone Penetration in the United States," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(2), pages 178-184, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Serna, Natalia & Riascos, Álvaro J. & Martin, Juan David, 2019. "Welfare effects of switching barriers through permanence clauses: Evidence from the mobiles market in Colombia," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(4), pages 310-323.
    2. Sumit K. Majumdar, 2010. "Incentive Compatible Mechanism Design And Firm Growth: Experiences From Telecommunications Sector Regulation," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 81(3), pages 357-387, September.
    3. Ying Fan & Mo Xiao, 2015. "Competition and subsidies in the deregulated US local telephone industry," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 46(4), pages 751-776, October.
    4. Mark A. Jamison, 2011. "Liberalization and Regulation of Telecoms, Electricity, and Gas in the United States," Chapters, in: Matthias Finger & Rolf W. Künneke (ed.), International Handbook of Network Industries, chapter 21, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Giovannetti, Emanuele, 2002. "Interconnection, differentiation and bottlenecks in the Internet," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 385-404, September.
    6. Jerbashian, Vahagn, 2015. "The telecommunications industry and economic growth: How the market structure matters," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 515-523.
    7. Majumdar, Sumit K. & Yaylacicegi, Ulku & Moussawi, Rabih, 2012. "Mergers and synergy: Lessons from contemporary telecommunications history," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 140-154.
    8. Yilmaz, Kamil, 2000. "Türk telekomünikasyon sektöründe reform: Özelleştirme, düzenleme ve serbestleşme [Reform in the Turkish telecommunications sector: Privatisation, regulation, and liberalisation]," MPRA Paper 66244, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Nicholas Economides, 2006. "Competition Policy in Network Industries: An Introduction," Chapters, in: Dennis W. Jansen (ed.), The New Economy and Beyond, chapter 5, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    10. Majumdar, Sumit K., 2016. "Debt and communications technology diffusion: Retrospective evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 458-474.
    11. Nicholas Economides, 2003. "Telecommunications Regulation: An Introduction," Working Papers 03-22, New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business, Department of Economics.
    12. de Bijl, P.W.J. & Peitz, M., 2004. "Unbundling the Local Loop : One-Way Access and Imperfect Competition," Other publications TiSEM c4c1aaba-c45d-46d1-9ebb-c, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    13. Sumit K. Majumdar & Rabih Moussawi & Ulku Yaylacicegi, 2018. "Capital Structure and Mergers: Retrospective Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 449-472, December.
    14. Okoeguale, Kevin I. & Loveland, Robert, 2017. "Telecommunications deregulation and the motives for mergers," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 15-31.
    15. Sumit K. Majumdar & Rabih Moussawi & Ulku Yaylacicegi, 2014. "Do Incumbents’ Mergers Influence Entrepreneurial Entry? An Evaluation," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 38(3), pages 601-633, May.
    16. Zhangxi Lin & Andrew B. Whinston & Shaokun Fan, 2015. "Harnessing Internet finance with innovative cyber credit management," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 1-24, December.

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    JEL classification:

    • L1 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance
    • D4 - Microeconomics - - Market Structure, Pricing, and Design

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