I do have them now. I am better off than I was five years ago, if I continue to have choices. The difference for Ashdown and others in the telecom industry was the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996, considered the first overhaul of telecommunications law in 62 years. This week, the act turns 5 years old and many in the industry are wondering if the act is accomplishing its goals. There's even talk in Washington, D.C., of completely deregulating telecommunications.
People forget how it fundamentally changed the market.
The market was closed and they overestimated the act's ability to change it. To stimulate competition, the act enabled the Baby Bells to enter long-distance markets only if they could prove local telephone service markets were competitive. Applications for approval can be 2,500 pages long and final submissions for approval to the Federal Communications Commission can be 100,000 to 400,000 pages in length. State utility regulators make recommendations for 271 approval to the FCC which has final authority. Approvals limited Only two Baby Bells have succeeded in getting approval for long-distance service in the regions they serve.