February 28, 2005 (Computerworld) --
"It is the mission of the Federal Communications Commission to ensure that the American people have available -- at reasonable costs and without discrimination -- rapid, efficient, nation- and world-wide communications services; whether by radio, television, wire, satellite, or cable." -- From the FCC's, Web site Will we ever see the day when a large government agency proclaims "mission accomplished" and starts winding itself down, not because of failure but because of success? Don't bet on it. But that's the question that comes to mind as we watch SBC Communications swallow up AT&T, Verizon and Qwest go after MCI, and Sprint take over Nextel. While the usual assortment of advocacy groups will fret about excessive corporate size and power, when you look at today's telecommunications marketplace, it's pretty clear that virtually all of the FCC's goals have been achieved. It was less than 25 years ago that a heavily regulated AT&T dominated America's telecommunications industry. The U.S. judiciary wisely deemed this an undesirable structure, given the diversity and potential of emerging voice and data technologies. The 1982 antitrust settlement that led to the breakup of AT&T triggered an explosion in innovation and usage beyond what even the most zealous enthusiasts ever predicted. It's worth remembering that in the early 1980s, the idea of breaking up AT&T was highly controversial, and the best means of doing it was by no means obvious, even to those who supported it. However, the decision to separate AT&T's local, long-distance and equipment businesses has proved sound. The latter two industries quickly became fiercely competitive; only the local operating companies held near-monopoly positions. Over the past two decades, those local monopolies have also been steadily eroded, and thanks to the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and other policies, the largely artificial boundaries between local and long-distance services have blurred. The emergence of DSL, cable, and wireless voice and data services, as well as Internet-based offerings, is producing a highly competitive marketplace where the eventual winners are by no means clear. Which one of those horses would you bet on? Of course, all is not perfect. Cable TV and local telephone services are still too expensive in some areas, and it would indeed be worrisome if a region's wired and wireless services were owned by a single company. There is also the risk that excessive access charges between various networks could become a real barrier to open competition. But these issues can be managed by state regulators, antitrust overseers and the marketplace. They no longer require a specialized agency focused on national telecom policy. The idea of scaling back the FCC is not so much a cost-saving proposition.
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