Transformations in Telecommunications and Media Elements and Issues for Consideration

The passage of the 1996 Telecommunications Act resulted in a major revision of the Communications Act of 1934 to address the emergence of competition in what were previously considered to be monopolistic markets. Since its passage, however, the advancement of broadband technology to supply data, voice, and video; the growing convergence of the telecommunications and media sectors; and the growth in demand for usable radio frequency spectrum has led to a consensus that the laws that govern these sectors have become inadequate to address this rapidly changing environment and have, according to a growing number of policy-makers, made it necessary to consider revising the current regulatory framework. This book provides an overview of selected topics that, while far from a definitive list, provide a broad overview of issues that are central to the telecommunications/media convergence debate. The issues covered in this book include broadband deployment, broadband regulation and access, broadcast media ownership rules, funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, emergency communications, legal issues regarding facilities siting, Federal Communications Commission oversight and reform, Internet governance and the domain name system, reauthorization of statutory copyright and communications provisions in the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, spectrum policy and wireless broadband deployment, and Universal Service Fund reform.