Katz, Michael L. --- "Antitrust or regulation? US public policy in telecommunications markets" [2004] ELECD 63; in Buigues, A. Pierre; Rey, Patrick (eds), "The Economics of Antitrust and Regulation in Telecommunications" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2004)

Book Title: The Economics of Antitrust and Regulation in Telecommunications

Editor(s): Buigues, A. Pierre; Rey, Patrick

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781843765103

Section: Chapter 13

Section Title: Antitrust or regulation? US public policy in telecommunications markets

Author(s): Katz, Michael L.

Number of pages: 17

Extract:

13. Antitrust or regulation? US public policy in
telecommunications markets
Michael L. Katz

1. INTRODUCTION
Telecommunications industries in the USA are subject to a complex set of laws administered
by a variety of government organizations. In many instances there are overlapping jurisdic-
tions at the federal, State, and local levels. Moreover, the actions of suppliers in these
industries are often subject to both economy-wide antitrust laws and sector-specific regula-
tions.
Historically, there was a tension between antitrust policy and telecommunications regula-
tion. For the past century, antitrust policy has generally been based on the view that
competition is desirable, and enforcement practices typically were aimed at protecting
competition.1 American telecommunications regulation has a rather different history. For
most of the last century, State and federal regulators limited entry into telephone markets in
the name of promoting universal service. And local and federal regulators limited entry into
the provision of cable television service. In recent years, however, telecommunications
policy-makers have embraced competition to a much greater degree, with the Telecommuni-
cations Act of 1996 being the most visible example.2, 3
As telecommunications regulation has joined antitrust policy in viewing competition as a
tool rather than a threat, a number of commentators have called for an `antitrust approach'
toward public policy concerning telecommunications industries. There are several compo-
nents that an antitrust approach to telecommunications public policy might include:

One could rely solely on general antitrust statutes rather than sector-specific ones.
Doing so would raise two ...