The problem is that the telephone and cable television industries, on which the Internet relies to reach homes, remain regulated to varying degrees. That regulatory dissimilarity raises hard questions. Billions of dollars, the development of communications industries and the future of how Americans are linked to cyberspace ride on those questions. And so far, the FCC's attempts to answer them, raise still more questions. There are some areas where the old paradigm intersects with the new paradigm, and that is where we are presented with some challenge.
Most people link to the Internet using a standard telephone line.
To the modem-using consumer, it generally seems like a standard local phone call. The dial-up data communication travels over the systems of the user's local phone company, which then hands it off to an Internet access provider like America Online. The Internet company then arranges for the transit of information, via long-distance lines, from the user to any one of thousands of sites around the world. It is not a whimsical question. So the FCC, wanting to expand the Internet, reaffirmed earlier this year that Internet companies receive a special exemption from long-distance access fees.