Telecommunications policy of the United States
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The policy behind telecommunications in the US is directed by decision makers in the Municipal, State, federal and International arenas; as well as the Legislative, Executive, Judicial branches of government and the Regulatory Commissions like the FCC.
Governing principles behind telecom policy
- Economic Regulation of Natural Monopoly
- Antitrust
- Management of Government owned resources (spectrum)
- Public Interest
- National Security
Institutional Framework in the U.S.
- Independent Regulatory Commissions
- FCC, state PUCs (Public Utility Commissions)
- Delegation Doctrine: statutory authority
- quasi-legislative, executive and judicial functions
- Legislative role (delegation, oversight, budget)
- Executive role (appointment, budget )
- Judicial role (review commission decisions)
The policy framework determines the bundle of service available to the consumer, as well as the industry structure. The hallmark event in the history of the US Telecommunication industry would be the break up of the Bell Telephone company into Baby bells or RBOCs.
The challenge remains preserving competition, while restricting monpolies.
There are a number of agencies concerned with telecommunication policy. They include:
- The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Some of the current challenges
- Regulation of IP Transport
- Is UNE competition viable?
- Is there really room for multiple Fiber To The Home (FTTH) networks?
- Interconnection and "Open Access"
- Content/Conduit bundling
- FCC Spectrum Policy: Evolution of Flexibility of Use
- How to regulate the bottleneck using the LoopCo regulatory regime.
- How should municipal broadband networks be regulated?
- Cyber Warfare and electronic Privacy Rights