Since the beginning of time, people have had the need to communicate with one and other. The most common type of communication is speech, but you could not talk to someone who lived 20 miles away. Then written language was developed, people marked symbols on paper, stone, or whatever was available. Then hundreds of years passed, and people who wanted to share their ideas with people had to do allot of writing, until someone thought to make a writing machine. This machine is called the printing press. In this day and age we as a global community are growing at a super fast rate. Telecommunication is a vital tool, which aids us in breaking the distance barrier. Over the past decades there has been a monopoly in the telecommunications business, but now with the power of the telecommunication, and super fast data transfer rates people can communicate across the globe.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major rewrite of the Telecommunications Act of 1934. Before the new act, the nation had seen the birth of television (both black and color); the increase of network, cable, and satellite broadcasting; advances in phone service; the birth and growth of cellular phone service; and the rapid increase in the use of computers and the Internet. The need for a major overhaul was long overdue. The previous act basically had to worry about what was going on with wire and radio. The 1934 act thought of communications as a natural monopoly. Communications were clearer cut back then and it was easier to think of just one organization regulating the use of that technology whether it was radio or wire. Telecommunication now is more diverse and affects the society more directly. We have products that combine technologies like cable and cellular phone systems that provide Internet access.
Telecommunications Act of 1996 In February of 1996, the U.S. Congress enacted the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The Act was one of the most substantial changes in the regulation of any industry in recent history. The Act replaced all current laws, FCC regulations, and the consent degree and subsequent court rulings under which AT&T was broken into the "baby Bells." It also overruled all existing state laws and prohibited states from introducing new laws. Practically overnight, the telecommunications industry went from a highly regulated and legally restricted monopoly to open ...
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Leopold, G. (June, 1996). Feds leery about regulating the Internet. Electronic Engineering Times, pp. 1.
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For months, the prospect of a T-Mobile and AT&T merger has become more public. The prolonged merger discussion has left the public wondering if the acquisition will allow AT&T to completely rule the telecommunications market, leaving Verizon and Sprint in the dust. Mobile subscribers have been left unsure by the shocking announcement, wondering how their pockets and cellular services will be affected. With lawsuits being filed by both the Department of Justice and Sprint, the future of the acquisition is unclear. AT&T stands by its history of fair dealing, publishing the following in its Code of Ethics:
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Taking a deeper look at the Telecommunications act of 1996 gives us a better understanding of what type of authoritative power the Federal Communications Commission actually has. The Act contains as follows in the context of local exchange carriers:
Schmidt, E. E., & Cohen, J. (2014, March 11). The Future of Internet Freedom. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from
A recent and hotly debated topic among businesses, politicians, and internet users in the United States is that of net neutrality. With the rise of the internet over the past few decades, laws and regulations have struggled to keep up with the ever changing environment. As such, the problem of whether net neutrality should be enforced, and to what extent, has been a dividing issue. This problem has come into the public’s attention recently due to infringements and controversy surrounding policies by Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In the following paragraphs, I plan to first define the concept of net neutrality, related topics which are crucial for an informed ethical discussion of the topic, and also related cases in which net neutrality
There are many laws in place by the United States government to protect consumers. This term paper will examine one law in particular, The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986. “The ECPA applies to both government and private entities, but appears to be more restrictive concerning government interception and access.” [1] The ECPA was put in place to protect individual’s electronic communication rights from being violated. Without a law of this type, our on-line world would be a welcome mat for anyone who wanted to invade our lives.
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 can be termed as a major overhaul of the communications law in the past sixty-two years. The main aim of this Act is to enable any communications firm to enter the market and compete against one another based on fair and just practices (“The Telecommunications Act 1996,” The Federal Communications Commission). This Act has the potential to radically change the lives of the people in a number of different ways. For instance it has affected the telephone services both local and long distance, cable programming and other video services, broadcast services and services provided to schools. The Federal Communications Commission has actively endorsed this Act and has worked towards the enforcement and implementation of the various clauses listed in the document. The Act was basically brought into existence in order to promote competition and reduce regulation so that lower prices and higher quality services for the Americans consumers may be secured.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has worked to create an environment promoting competition and innovation to benefit consumers. Historically, the FCC has not regulated the Internet or the services provided over it. On February 12, 2004, the FCC found that an entirely Internet-based VoIP service was an unregulated information service.
On February 8, 1996, President Clinton1 signed into law the Telecommunications Act of 19962, which will dramatically alter the telecommunications industry over the next several years. One of the most controversial sections of the bill was Section 551, titled "Parental Choice in Television Programming," which calls for manufacturers to include a "V-chip" in every new TV set 13 inches or larger.
AT&T had their abuse of the internet during an August 2007 concert. The band playing was Pearl Jam. The lead singer was an anti-Bush supporter and during the concert, he substituted some of the song lyrics with his lyrics. His lyrics were against Bush and AT&T was in charge of the concert. AT&T blocked the streaming of the concert and they blamed it on “excessive profanity”. His own lyrics did not contain profanity. His lyrics were “George Bush, leave this world alone” and “George Bush find yourself another home." His lyrics did not even mention profanity and it shocked the lead singer. After that, AT&T blamed it on the censorship on an external website contractor hired to watch the stream. They called “it being a mistake” and rereleased the stream with the lead singer’s lyrics (ACLU). The last point is what happened to the FCC rules and the argument against Net
Sheffet, Mary Jane. "The Supreme Court And Predatory Pricing." Journal Of Public Policy & Marketing 13.1 (1994): 163-167. Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
This is been hard for these providers and if they get this law out of the system, then these providers can get money back. On July 10th, 2017 the FCC has started their debate. The debate has been going on since about 2015, and leading up to this day it is still going on. In the 1890’s the US Telephone Business presented flat-rate pricings. Consumers were able to pick out any type of phone system that they wanted, and soon was a good selling point for companies. This is not the way it is anymore though. President Donald Trump, was the person that made Ajit Pai chairman of the FCC, and Pai has been the one trying to cancel or get rid of the Net Neutrality laws. Apple (a technology company) has been quiet on this topic about Net Neutrality, even though customers or consumers that buy their products use certain internet providers. If they use Comcast or Verizon they are not getting the service that they should. So why isn’t Apple helping to solve this problem. Cynthia Hogan Apple’s VP of the Public Policy for America has told the FCC to create a ban against broadband providers that charge more money than needed to deliver better technology
Sussman, Leonard R. The Internet and Press Freedom 2000. 2000. Freedom House. Feb. 20, 2001. <http://www.freedomhouse.org/pfs2000/sussman.html>.
Free speech on the Internet is a very controversial subject and has been the key problem surrounding the Internet today. The attempt to regulate and govern the Internet is still pursued by government officials. This subject has been intensified due to terrorist attacks against the United States and around world within the past years. The government believes that by regulating the Internet, it will protect the general public from criminal actions and eliminate the exposure of children to pornography or vulgar language. Senator Jim Exon of ...