Telecommunications Act of 1996
From Free net encyclopedia
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications policy in nearly 62 years, modifying earlier legislation, primarily the Communications Act of 1934. It was approved by the 104th Congress on January 3, 1996. Dick Armey served as House Majority Leader during its passage. It was signed into law by United States President Bill Clinton on February 8, 1996. The legislation regulates:
- Broadcasting by over-the-air television and radio stations;
- cable television operators;
- satellite broadcasters;
- Wireline telephone companies (local and long distance), wireless telephone companies, and others.
The general intention of the Act was deregulation and promotion of competition. The Act removed barriers which had previously prevented telecoms from competing head-to-head; the Act was intended to foster competition. Deregulation was also intended to offer consumers a choice in local phone service.
Passage of the Act resulted in several major mergers, including:
- AT&T bought TCI;
- Bell Atlantic and NYNEX merged;
- Southwestern Bell and PacTel merged to become SBC and then bought Ameritech;
- MCI Communications and WorldCom merged to become MCI WorldCom;
- Bell Atlantic and GTE merged to become Verizon.
Eventhough the Telecommunications act was brought into power to eliminate monopolization of large companies in the media field, this increased the power of the monopolizers through the new mergings that occurred. This last sentence is not accurate. Telecom monopolies existing because of Congressional law, until the federal courts broke up AT &T. The 1996 Act attempted to codify these changes in a new framework that would create additional competition.
Title V was the Communications Decency Act, aimed at regulating online pornography but was later defeated in the courts on constitutional grounds by advocates of free speech.
External links
- Communications Act of 1934, as Amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996
- Telecommunications Act of 1996
Analysis of The Telecommunications Act of 1996. This article by Fritz Messere (Associate Professor of Communication Studies at SUNY Oswego) describes the impact of the Act on radio and television broadcasting, Internet and on-line computer services, and provides sources and suggested further reading.
“Chapter 4: Liberalisation: Case Studies in Telecommunications” from the London School of Economics’ Course Guide to Political Environment for Global Business, by Richard Jerram, Michael Hodges, Louis Turner, and Richard Kurz. This article describes the main effects of US telecommunications reform and discusses the consequences of The 1996 Telecommunications Act.
References
- A Legislative History of the Communications Act of 1936, by Paglin, Max D. - Oxford University Press, New York. 1989.
- Brinkley Act - Section 325(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 that was written into law in an attempt to halt live broadcasting from radio studios in the United States linked via telephone land lines to superpower border-blaster transmitters located along the Mexican side of the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo), international border. This provision was carried through into the Telecommunications Act of 1996 by incorporation of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended to Section 325(c).