In the last twelve months the telecommunications industry has laid off thousands of workers. Monthly rates for cable TV have climbed at more than twice the rate of inflation. Long-distance phone rates are up. Local rates are rising. Competition is down.
Concentration is up.
And far from providing better quality services, the owners of the broadcast media have begun to eliminate even the few efforts they had made in that direction. None of this should have been unexpected. The Act promised competition but virtually guaranteed concentration. It removed all limitations on the number of radio stations one company can own nationally and allowed one company to own up to 8 stations in each community. It relaxed the rules regarding how many TV stations one company can operate and permitted common ownership of cable TV systems and broadcast networks.