Communications in the United States
The primary regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission. It closely regulates all of the industries mentioned below with the exception of newspapers and the Internet service provider industry. History. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent government agency responsible for regulating the radio, television and phone industries. The FCC regulates all interstate communications, such as wire, satellite and cable, and international communications originating or terminating in the United States. Press. Newspapers declined in their influence and penetration into American households in the late 20th century. Most newspapers are  local, having little circulation outside their particular metropolitan area. The closest thing to a national paper the U.S. has is "USA Today". Other influential dailies include "The New York Times", "The Washington Post" and "The Wall Street Journal" which are sold in most U.S. cities. The largest newspapers (by circulation) in the United States are "USA Today", "The Wall Street Journal", "The New York Times" and the "Los Angeles Times". Mail. The legal monopoly of the government-owned United States Postal Service has narrowed during the 20th and 21st centuries due to competition from companies such as UPS & FedEx, although  still delivers the vast majority of US mail. Telephone. In 1946, a majority of U.S. households owned at least one telephone. Telephone system: "General assessment": A large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system. "Domestic:" A large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country. "International:" Country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean  regions) (2000). Landlines. Telephones - main lines in use: 141 million (2009) Cellular/Wireless communication. Telephones - mobile cellular: 286 million (2009) Radio. Radio broadcast stations: AM: 4,669; FM commercial stations: 6,746; FM educational stations: 4,101; FM translators & boosters: 7,253; low-power FM stations: 1,678 (as of December 31, 2016, according to the Federal Communications Commission) Radios: 575 million (1997) Television. Television broadcast stations: 7,533 (of which 1,778 are full-power TV stations; 417 are class-A TV stations; 3,789 are TV translators; and 1,966 are other low-power TV stations) (as of December 31, 2016, according to the Federal Communications Commission ); in addition, there are about 12,000 cable TV systems. Televisions: 219 million (1997) Internet. Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 7,600 (1999 est.) Country code (Top level domain): US