US communications policy making: The results of executive branch reorganization

Taking into consideration President Carter's campaign commitment to streamline the federal bureaucracy the authors analyze the reorganization of US government authority in the area of telecommunications policy. They discuss potential problems to result from the new organization, and how it is designed to eliminate controversies which arose over the previously existing agencies.     

US telecommunications privacy policy : Socio-political responses to technological advances

Deciding on who should know about Americans' private telephone conversations and other forms of telecommunicating has always been an issue fraught with, on the one hand, fear of intrusive government or corporate agents and, on the other, a desire for government and corporations to control crime and vend services respectively. This article looks at how legal and legislative compromises have been reached in order to address differing goals, and what forms future privacy issues may take. The discussion focuses first on the political origins of the USA's current laws governing privacy and the telephone, then on novel privacy issues arising out of new telecommunications technologies.     

Regulatory institutions and processes in telecommunications : An international study of alternatives

This article reviews national regulatory institutions and processes for telecommunications, and assesses some advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives. It is based on a report commissioned by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in connection with its Regulatory Colloquium programme. The report was prepared by an independent team, and represents their views, not an ITU view. It summarizes experience in numerous countries, and includes detailed case studies.     

Recent developments in US wireline telecommunications

This article presents a selective survey of several recent developments in the US market for wireline telecommunications services spanning the 2003–2005 period. Specifically, the article discusses the recent decline in overall telephone penetration rates, the substitution between wireline and wireless telephony, intermodal competition issues raised in the context of the FCCs review of the Cingular/AT&T Wireless merger, and the potentially anticompetitive effects of incumbent local exchange carrier tying of voice and DSL service. The article identifies several areas for future research motivated by each one of these developments.     

Leveraging the EU regulatory framework to improve a layered policy model for US telecommunications markets

What is the best way to overhaul the current telecommunications legislative framework in the United States? This is an ongoing debate among telecom policy analysts and many others affected by the legacy of regulatory compromises that govern US telecommunications (and related information and media) industry sectors. This paper compares a Layered Model for US telecommunications policy with the regulatory framework adopted by the European Union. Both approaches focus on service characteristics rather than underlying technological traits.¹ It becomes clear that the Layered Model could be adopted to move away from sector-specific regulation, and could successfully use conventional market analysis criteria.     

US telecommunications regulation: Will technology decide?

Twenty years ago, the telecommunications industry was an established regulated monopoly. But improvements in technology and reductions in costs have ripped apart the premises of natural monopoly and the economic rationale for public utility regulation. The authors review past US telecommunications policy and question the assumptions of the current search for a policy for the future. They believe that, for the industry to develop, institutions and restraints need to be removed.     

Global competition and EEC policy in telecommunications: An Italian perspective

Within the framework of increasing US and Japanese competition, an interpretation is given of the future development lines of European telecommunications. Europe is lagging behind in this sector; this is explained in terms of the subdivision of services at the national level and the fragmentation of industrial areas within the respective countries. The minimum basis for recovery should be the establishment of a common European base in the telecommunications sector. A European scenario is proposed with particular attention devoted to the Italian problems in restructuring and development.     

Aspects of innovation: Public policy issues in telecommunications development

The author considers the potential for innovation in various telecommunication technologies. Unfamiliar concepts may be generated by the introduction of a new technology, the uses of technology, abuses and their consequences, and cross-fertilisation with other fields. After discussing possible futures, he analyses the implications of a general model of change associated with the introduction of a major technology, and concludes by stressing the urgent need for research aimed at anticipating desirable and undesirable impacts.     

The evolution of the telecommunications policy agenda: Forty years of articles in Telecommunications Policy

This paper investigates the evolution of the telecommunications policy agenda by means of text mining forty years –from 1976 to 2016– of papers in the journal Telecommunications Policy. Text mining techniques help identify the key topics, the dominant combinations of concepts and the main areas of research within this multidisciplinary –technical, economic, social, policy– discipline. In addition they depict an evolution of the policy agenda more nuanced than the conventional public service, pre-competition and post-liberalisation stages typical of telecommunications. Also, in combination with bibliometric information, the results display the relationships between areas of research and methodologies, countries and authors’ background, all together providing a deeper understanding of the past, present and future avenues for research in telecommunications policy.     

Broadband adoption,jobs and wages in the US telecommunications industry

This article evaluates the impact of broadband adoption on wage and employment levels among the local exchange companies in the US telecommunications industry for the period between 1988 and 2001. Broadband is a general purpose technology and its adoption and diffusion is expected positively to impact wages because of the need for higher level skill in its deployment and usage, but can also lead to less human capital usage because of a scale effect. Using the extent of fiber adoption among the local exchange firms as a measure of broadband deployment, it was found that broadband diffusion within and between the firms over time has had a positive and significant impact on wage levels but its impact on employment has been negative. As broadband diffusion increases, with substantial scope available to do so given the low levels of deployment both among the local exchange firms studied and within the United States as a whole, the impact of such diffusion on enhancing wage levels in the sector can be profound.     

London calling: A policy for telecommunications after privatization

With the UK government's plan to privatize British Telecom moving forward seemingly without obstacle, Gareth Locksley examines the implications for London. Rather than concentrate on the arguments against privatization, this article considers a post-privatization strategy for the capital based on the need for a universally accessible system for the whole community.     

Regulation and investment behaviour in the telecommunications sector: policies and patterns in US and Europe

This paper reports the results of the quantitative analysis of international experience of the relationship between infrastructure investment in the deployment of capacity that can carry large volumes of voice and data traffic and regulatory policy changes in the telecommunications sectors. It looks at the relationship between infrastructure investment for these infrastructure assets and the access pricing régimes for local exchange carriers in the United States and Europe. It then looks at the relationship between various aspects of regulatory and institutional policy changes in Europe and how they affect access prices.The paper finds that a lower access price promotes greater deployment of digital technology among US incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs). Based on this finding, it suggests that it is in the ILECs interest to have access to their networks encouraged.The European data for interconnection are recent and far reaching conclusions are not feasible, but the findings, however, suggest that competition has worked by facilitating new entry through decreasing interconnection prices, although path dependencies, of existing and traditional concepts, in the mindsets of operators as well as regulators, may account for these findings.     

Interceptability of telecommunications: Is US and Dutch law prepared for the future?

For many decades, governments have successfully intercepted telecommunications to collect information about—potential—criminals and terrorists. A crucial part of contemporary policy is legislation that requires telecommunications providers to make their networks and services interceptable. This paper discusses two examples of interceptability legislation: the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in the US and the Telecommunications Act in the Netherlands, in order to focus on basic questions, considerations, and trade-offs relevant to designing legal interceptability laws.     

Mexico's international telecommunications policy: Origins,the WTO dispute,and future challenges

Mexico is by far Latin America's largest trader and the country with the most free trade agreements. Notwithstanding the success of its trade policy, the liberalization of its telecommunications sector was limited and generated a dispute at the WTO. This article offers an overview of Mexico's trade policy, with special emphasis on its policy regarding trade in telecommunications services and the 2002–2004 Mexico–United States dispute over telecommunications at the WTO. The dispute is the first one over trade in telecommunications services at the WTO and has generated interest among many developed and developing countries.     

Japan's policy on monopoly and competition in telecommunications

Telecommunications policy in Japan is about to undergo a significant change in the field of domestic telecommunications services. A monopolistic policy has long been maintained - monopoly by the government for the first 80 years and monopoly by the NTT, a domestic common carrier, for the past 30 years. Now, however, a policy of competition is required to meet the needs of citizens and companies when confronted with the age of the information society. This article analyses the trend of past, present and future telecommunications policy in Japan in relation to monopoly and competition.     

Nutrition research policy : US progress in the past decade

Human nutrition research is receiving a great deal of attention from the media, consumers and the US government. This article focuses on policy problems facing the government in the development and implementation of the federal human nutrition research programme: establishment of priorities, organization and funding. The background leading up to the present situation is developed, and the political bodies and federal agencies participating in the debate are described. The authors identify the policy issues, and discuss progress towards their resolution.     

US farm policy in perspective

At the end of 1981 the US Congress passed new farm legislation which was widely hailed as a success for the Reagan administration's efforts to contain the escalation of farm supports, it now appears, however, that it has created serious problems in a situation of rapid agricultural productivity growth in the face of slower growth of domestic and foreign demand. Despite subsequent amendments to limit budget outlays, farm support costs are now estimated at $12 billion each in FY 1982 and 1983 and $7 billion in FY 1984, as compared with original projections of less than $3 billion annually.     

Power and the US food policy agenda

The author examines the cycle of the struggle for control of the US food policy agenda. It is commonly thought that the central matter of public policy is the choice between alternative solutions to issues on the agenda. The real question is whether the issues on the agenda are the relevant ones and who has control of the agenda. A review of the US food policy agenda since the middle of the nineteenth century is carried out within this context.     

The African telecommunications union: A Pan-African approach to telecommunications reform

This article examines the organisational structure and strategic plans of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU). Although the ATU has been restructured to include private telecommunications entities as associate members, it remains essentially an inter-governmental agency. The article assesses the benefits of a regional approach to telecommunications reform and proposes that regional economic organisations replace the nation states as members of the ATU. Although the goals of the ATU, as articulated in its strategic plans are laudable, clearly defined benchmarks and specific strategies to achieve them are needed to make the organisation more effective.     

The domestic determinants of US food aid policy

This study presents empirical analysis of US food aid flows as evidence of the strong and stable relationship between commodity producer interests and policy-makers during a 35 yr period. Whereas most foreign aid research centers on the distribution of aid among recipient countries, this study focuses on the determinants of the supply of food aid made available by the donor country. I conduct time series regression analysis of total US food aid shipments, as well as separate analyses of two key commodities, wheat and rice. Several key findings emerge: (1) There is a consistent relationship between commodity producer interests and US food aid policy. (2) There is a strong relationship between commodity stocks and food aid shipments, especially during the years when stocks were the greatest. (3) US food aid policy-making is highly incremental. These findings, taken together with the lack of a strong relationship between grain production in poor countries and US food aid shipments, belie official rhetoric emphasizing the growing humanitarian objectives of the program over time. In the case of rice, I find a strong relationship between aid flows and US involvement in the Vietnam War.