DEVELOPMENTS IN REGULATING HIGH-SPEED INTERNET ACCESS: CABLE MODEMS, DSL, & CITYWIDE WI-FI

摘要

The telecommunications industry is undergoing rapid change, fueled by technological innovation and consumer demand for better and faster communication tools. Computer technology, mobile telephony, the internet, and satellite communications now crowd a market once dominated by radio, fixed-line telephony, and cable television. As a natural monopoly, the telecommunications industry would automatically price many consumers out of the market without some government intervention. Thus, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is charged with implementing the legislation enacted by Congress to regulate this industry. The U.S. government has historically recognized that all consumers are entitled to access at least a basic tier of telecommunications services. In the past several years, the FCC has faced the question of interpreting whether highspeed internet access should be considered a part of this minimum guarantee. The FCC has thus far failed to categorize high-speed internet access as a "universal service"; if it were so classified, high-speed internet access would then be subsidized in rural and underprivileged areas by the universal service fee that all telecommunications service providers pay. In the absence of such policy decisions, the lack of access to affordable highspeed internet access may widen the digital divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots."