A Survey of Government-Provided Telecommunications:

Today, national, regional, and in many cases, private sector local firms provide a wide range of communications services using several different technological platforms. And, technological advances continue to drive new and innovative products and services to market and create opportunities for new competition. Nevertheless, a good case can be made that the continued overly intrusive and burdensome regulation and the imposition of a multitude of taxes and regulatory fees on private sector telecommunications providers by the FCC and state and local authorities contributed to the recent downturn in the telecom industry and indeed continues to harm the overall economy. There is no doubt that such overly intrusive regulation has impaired private sector telecommunications investment in new facilities and services at a time when much of the world is moving in the opposite direction to implement more privatization and less regulation.

In the midst of the current telecommunications industry downturn, a phenomenon that has not received as much attention as it should is the continuing growth in the number of public entities that offer telecommunications services. While the mega-trend in telecommunications has been for more consumer choice and less government regulation, evidence suggests that a disturbing counter-trend is gathering some force. More municipalities and states are involving themselves more directly than ever before, often through outright government ownership, management, and operation of telecom networks, and sometimes through less direct means of government involvement and support, in the provision of telecommunications services.

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