Telecommunications Act of 1996

Extracted Attributes

• Type

  Federal Law

• Amends

  Communications Act of 1934

• Country

  United States

• Criticism

  Enabled market concentration, indirectly restricting newcomer access to broadcasting

• Signed By

  President Bill Clinton

• Enacting Body

  104th United States Congress

• Primary Effect

  Led to substantial consolidation and market concentration in the telecommunications sector

• Positive Impact

  Incentivized expansion of networks and offering of new services

• Stated Intention

  To foster competition, allow any company to enter any communications business and compete in any market, reduce regulation, secure lower prices and higher quality services

• Official Citation

  Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. LA.

• Key Regulatory Change

  First time the Internet was included in American broadcasting and telephony regulations

Timeline

• Enacted by the 104th United States Congress. (Source: wikipedia, dbpedia)

  1996-01-03

• Signed into law by President Bill Clinton. (Source: summary, wikipedia, dbpedia)

  1996-02-08

• FCC begins actions to implement the Act. (Source: web_search_results)

  1996-02-08

• Report on FCC Implementation of Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Revised) is published, detailing cumulative actions taken since February 8, 1996. (Source: web_search_results)

  1997-01-13

Telecommunications Act of 1996

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is a United States federal law enacted by the 104th United States Congress on January 3, 1996, and signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It primarily amended Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code. Heavily supported and lobbied for by major corporations in the telecommunications sector, the act was the first significant overhaul of United States telecommunications law in more than sixty years. It amended the Communications Act of 1934, and represented a major change in that law, because it was the first time that the Internet was added to American regulation of broadcasting and telephony. The stated intention of the law was to "let anyone enter any communications business – to let any communications business compete in any market against any other." In practice, it gave way to one of the largest consolidations of the telecommunications sector in history - as such, it is often described as an attempt to deregulate the American broadcasting and telecommunications markets due to technological convergence. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has been praised for incentivizing the expansion of networks and the offering of new services across the United States. At the same time, it is often criticized for enabling market concentration in the media and telecommunications industries, going against its very stated intention by indirectly restricting newcomer access to broadcasting.

Web Search Results

• Telecommunications Act of 1996 | Federal Communications ...

  The FCC maintains ASCII Text and Adobe Acrobat Version (128 pages) of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, as well as Word Perfect Version and Adobe Acrobat Version (335 pages) of the completely updated Communications Act of 1934, as amended by the 1996 Act. The official citation for the new Act is: Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. LA. (Revised January 13, 1997) • The Report on FCC Implementation of Telecommunications Act of 1996is a cumulative report of all actions taken since February 8, 1996, by the FCC to implement the Act. This report has two sections: (1) Commission Actions and (2) Facilitating Public Information.

• Telecommunications Act of 1996 - Wikipedia

  An Act to promote competition and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality services for American telecommunications consumers and

• Summary of Telecommunications Act - Clinton White House

  Image 3Image 4Image 5Image 6Image 7Image 8Image 9Image 10Image 11**A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM ACT OF 1996** For the past three years, President Clinton and Vice President Gore have worked for telecommunications reform that stimulates private investment, promotes competition, protects diversity of viewpoints and voices among the media, provides families with technologies to help them control the kinds of television programs that come into their homes, and strengthens and improves universal service so that all Americans can have access to the benefits of the information superhighway. Media Ownership Because President Clinton and Vice President Gore believe that diversity of voices and viewpoints is critical to our democracy, the Act will prevent undue concentration of television and radio ownership.

• TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996

  ‘‘(35) BELL OPERATING COMPANY.—The term ‘Bell operating company’— ‘‘(A) means any of the following companies: Bell Tele-phone Company of Nevada, Illinois Bell Telephone Com-pany, Indiana Bell Telephone Company, Incorporated, Michigan Bell Telephone Company, New England Tele-phone and Telegraph Company, New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, New York Telephone Company, U S West Communications Company, South Central Bell Telephone Company, Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Com-pany, Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, The Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, The Chesapeake and Poto-mac Telephone Company of Maryland, The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia, The Chesa-peake and Potomac Telephone Company of West Virginia, The Diamond State Telephone Company, The Ohio Bell Telephone Company, The Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company, or Wisconsin Telephone Company; and ‘‘(B) includes any successor or assign of any such com-pany that provides wireline telephone exchange service; but VerDate 20-FEB-96 13:45 Mar 05, 1996 Jkt 029139 PO 00104 Frm 00004 Fmt 6580 Sfmt 6581 PUBL104.104 apps10 110 STAT.

• The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and its impact - ScienceDirect

  Thus, the Act requires that competition be established in local markets _before_ the ILECs are allowed in long distance service. The Act states that prices for resold wholesale services will be set as follows: “a State commission shall determine wholesale rates on the basis of retail rates charged to subscribers for the telecommunications service requested, excluding the portion thereof attributable to any marketing, billing, collection, and other costs that will be avoided by the local exchange carrier” [252(d)(3)].

• Country

  United States

• Instance Of

  Q476068

The Teleommunications Act of 1996 is a United States federal law enacted by the 104th United States Congress on January 3, 1996, and signed into law on February 8, 1996, by President Bill Clinton. It primarily amended Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code, The act was the first significant overhaul of United States telecommunications law in more than sixty years, amending the Communications Act of 1934, and represented a major change in American telecommunication law, because it was the first time that the Internet was included in broadcasting and spectrum allotment. The goal of the law was to "let anyone enter any communications business – to let any communications business compete in any market against any other." The legislation's primary goal was deregulation of the converging broadcasting and telecommunications markets. The law's regulatory policies have been criticized, including the effects of dualistic re-regulation of the communications market.