Telecommunication Policy for the Information Age

Will the rush of the information super-highway leave U.S. telecommunication policy in the dust - or will our policy keep pace with and effectively regulate the future of telecommunication? Former FCC Bureau Chief Gerald Brock argues that the existing agencies with overlapping responsibilities can set policies that will wisely steer the telecommunication industry through the high-speed changes just around the corner. Brock develops a new theory of decentralized public decision-making and uses it to clarify the dramatic changes that have transformed the industry from a heavily regulated monopoly to a set of market-oriented finds. In a uniquely authoritative, up-to-date history of telecommunication policy - informed in part by his firsthand experience - the author looks at decisions made by the FCC, state regulatory agencies, the Department of Justice, Congress, and federal courts. He demonstrates how the decentralized decision-making process - whose apparent element of chaos has so often invited criticism - has actually made the United States a world leader in reforming telecommunication policy. Brock traces the flow of information through the bureaucratic web that regulated the divestiture and earlier transitions, such as the first monopoly-eroding attachment of terminal equipment and the development of private microwave systems. Throughout his analysis, Brock convincingly shows that decentralized policymaking generates rational outcomes consistent with public preferences. Replete with details on the role of subsidies in influencing policy, and including in-depth analysis of events after the divestiture, this study could regenerate U.S. policymaking in telecommunication and other public realms. It will be essential reading for everyone interested in the current debate over President Clinton's proposals concerning the information infrastructure, for all architects of public policy, and for those who study it.