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Full-Text Articles in Law

Telecommunications Act Of 1996: 704 Of The Act And Protections Afforded The Telecommunications Provider In The Facilities Sitting Context, The, Peter M. Degnan, Scott A. Mclaren, Michael T. Tennant Jun 1997

Telecommunications Act Of 1996: 704 Of The Act And Protections Afforded The Telecommunications Provider In The Facilities Sitting Context, The, Peter M. Degnan, Scott A. Mclaren, Michael T. Tennant

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The Telecommunications Act of 1996, signed into law by President Clinton in February, addresses, among many other important subjects, some of the technical problems that have arisen from the increasing popularity of mobile communications. This article will provide an overview of the Act and will focus specifically on the protections afforded a telecommunications provider in § 704 of the Act.


Resale Issues In Telecommunications Regulation: An Economic Perspective, Alexander C. Larson Jun 1996

Resale Issues In Telecommunications Regulation: An Economic Perspective, Alexander C. Larson

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to evaluate proposed resale policies from an economic perspective. Specifically, this Article evaluates whether mandated resale can be expected to lead to the benefits ascribed to it by its proponents. In addition, this Article identifies issues which must be addressed before an economically sound local service resale policy may be put into place.


Foreign Ownership Of Broadcasting: The Telecommunications Act Of 1996 And Beyond, W. Scott Hastings Jan 1996

Foreign Ownership Of Broadcasting: The Telecommunications Act Of 1996 And Beyond, W. Scott Hastings

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In an increasingly global market, severe restrictions upon foreign investment in broadcasting companies have enabled them to remain primarily domestic entities. This Note reviews these restrictions and advocates reforming the world-wlde system of broadcasting ownership regulation. This author discusses the major policies underlying the current regulations and demonstrates their implications by looking at several hypothetical regulatory schemes. The Note then focuses upon regulatory systems that are currently being used, as well as a hypothetical system based upon reciprocity. In the process, the author reviews the ownership restrictions of the United States, Canada, Australia, the European Community, and several lesser-developed markets. …


The Information Highway Must Pay Its Way Through Cities: A Discussion Of The Authority Of State And Local Governments To Be Compensated For The Use Of Public Rights-Of-Way, Clarence A. West Jun 1995

The Information Highway Must Pay Its Way Through Cities: A Discussion Of The Authority Of State And Local Governments To Be Compensated For The Use Of Public Rights-Of-Way, Clarence A. West

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

In the ever-changing telecommunications industry there appears to be an enormous amount of confusion not only as to the appropriate amount of compensation chargeable to the users of public rights-of-way, but also as to the very authority of state and local governments to require compensation. This was not always the case. It has long been a well-settled legal principle that local governments may receive reasonable "rental" compensation from private commercial entities for their use of local public property for private economic gain, even where federal statutory law restricts local governments from denying access to rights-of-way for telecommunications services. For example, …


Telecommunications In Transition: Unbundling, Reintegration, And Competition, David J. Teece Jun 1995

Telecommunications In Transition: Unbundling, Reintegration, And Competition, David J. Teece

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

The world economy is experiencing a technological revolution, fueled by rapid advances in microelectronics, optics, and computer science, that in the 1990s and beyond will dramatically change the way people everywhere communicate, learn, and access information and entertainment. This technological revolution has been underway for about a decade. The emergence of a fully-interactive communications network, sometimes referred to as the "Information Superhighway," is now upon us. This highway, made possible by fiber optics and the convergence of several different technologies, is capable of delivering a plethora of new interactive entertainment, informational, and instructional services that are powerful and user-friendly. The …


Unconstitutional Telco-Cable Cross-Ownership Ban: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, Arthur Bresnahan Jun 1995

Unconstitutional Telco-Cable Cross-Ownership Ban: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, Arthur Bresnahan

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

This article is a survey of the law regarding the federal government's ability to regulate a telephone company's provision of video programming to subscribers in its service area. Part I of the article is a history of the telco-cable cross-ownership ban. Part II is an analysis of the cases striking down the ban, exploring the rationale of these cases on a consolidated basis. Part III is a summary of the applicable standards by which to evaluate future attempts by Congress or the FCC to regulate telephone companies' provision of video programming.


Steps Toward A Global Information Infrastructure, Larry Irving, Janet Hernandez, Wendy C. Chow Dec 1994

Steps Toward A Global Information Infrastructure, Larry Irving, Janet Hernandez, Wendy C. Chow

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Principles For The Communications Act Of 2034: The Superstructure Of Infrastructure, Eli M. Noam Dec 1994

Principles For The Communications Act Of 2034: The Superstructure Of Infrastructure, Eli M. Noam

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Telecommunications And The Competitive Advantage Of Massachusetts, William F. Weld Dec 1994

Telecommunications And The Competitive Advantage Of Massachusetts, William F. Weld

Federal Communications Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Communications Policy Making, Competition, And The Public Interest: The New Dialogue, Fred H. Cate Jul 1993

Communications Policy Making, Competition, And The Public Interest: The New Dialogue, Fred H. Cate

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.


Reforming Fcc Regulation Of Dominant Telephone Carriers: Putting Some Teeth Into The Test For Predation, Thomas K. Gump May 1993

Reforming Fcc Regulation Of Dominant Telephone Carriers: Putting Some Teeth Into The Test For Predation, Thomas K. Gump

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note examines the ineffective protections against predatory pricing by AT&T contained in the price cap scheme. Part I outlines price cap regulation and explains how the FCC hopes that a test based on the average variable cost standard will detect predatory pricing. Part II argues that the FCC erred in adopting an average variable cost standard as the test for telecommunications predation because that standard ignores the high fixed costs common to all firms in the industry. Part II demonstrates that AT&T could engage in predatory pricing despite the protections contained in the regulatory scheme. Part II then examines …


Legal Responses To Commercial Transactions Employing Novel Communications Media, John Robinson Thomas Mar 1992

Legal Responses To Commercial Transactions Employing Novel Communications Media, John Robinson Thomas

Michigan Law Review

This Note analyzes contemporary business practices and specific characteristics of the new media, and suggests a judicial response consonant with courts' approaches to the earlier technologies of telegraphy and teletype. Part I examines the effect of the Statute of Frauds and rules of authentication upon contracts formed using these media. It concludes that documents produced by telefacsimile and electronic mail systems should be considered ordinary writings. Part II considers the Best Evidence Rule and argues that telefacsimiles and electronic mail transmissions should be considered the best evidence of the contract they memorialize. Part III evaluates doctrines of liability allocation in …


Questioning Broadcast Regulation, Jonathan Weinberg May 1988

Questioning Broadcast Regulation, Jonathan Weinberg

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Seven Dirty Words and Six Other Stories: Controlling the Content of Print and Broadcast by Matthew L. Spitzer


Cable Television Rights Of Way: Technology Expands The Concept Of Public Forum, Lawrence E. Spong Jun 1987

Cable Television Rights Of Way: Technology Expands The Concept Of Public Forum, Lawrence E. Spong

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that the public forum analysis is the proper standard for evaluating a cable television company's claim of access to public rights of way. Part I discusses the constitutional basis for this standard. Part II examines the ideological justifications for the public forum doctrine and argues that public rights of way are public forums for cable television purposes. In addition, it explains the application of the public forum doctrine to cable access questions and the doctrine's advantages over other standards.


Dialing For Foreign Telecommunications Market Access: Is The United States Getting A Busy Signal From Japan?, Robert E. Boone, Iii Jan 1987

Dialing For Foreign Telecommunications Market Access: Is The United States Getting A Busy Signal From Japan?, Robert E. Boone, Iii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Japan is one country that appears to be following United States policies. On April 1, 1985, the Japanese Government converted Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (NTT) from a government-run, publicly-held corporation into a private entity. Japan adopted the Electric Telecommunication Business Act in December 1984 to create an environment in which private entities can compete. The full extent to which the Japanese Government intends to open its market to non-Japanese firms remains unclear. This Note will discuss the development of Japanese telecommunications policy and the current United States tele-communications policy with respect to market access. The Note then will …


Expanding The Scarcity Rationale: The Constitutionality Of Public Access Requirements In Cable Franchise Agreements, Debora L. Osgood Oct 1986

Expanding The Scarcity Rationale: The Constitutionality Of Public Access Requirements In Cable Franchise Agreements, Debora L. Osgood

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

This Note argues that public access requirements should be upheld because they are constitutional and because they further the goals of the first amendment. As background for the debate over public access, Part I provides a brief description of cable television's history and regulation and discusses the case law concerning public access requirements. Part II examines the nature of the first amendment interests at stake in public access requirements. Before resolving the question of which interests should be protected, Part III argues that an expanded scarcity rationale should be used to justify cable regulation under the first amendment. Part IV …


Legal Framework Of Communications Programs In The European Space Agency, W. M. Thiebaut Jan 1984

Legal Framework Of Communications Programs In The European Space Agency, W. M. Thiebaut

Michigan Journal of International Law

The establishment of the ESC gave Europe the necessary impetus to start applications programs. In 1968, the third ESC ministerial meeting at Bad Godesberg, Federal Republic of Germany, unequivocally assigned space applications to ESRO, created the Committee of Senior Officials as an advisory board, and allocated a small budget for studies on application satellites. The Committee of Senior Officials set up a working group specifically to study possible European involvement in communication satellite programs. This working group consisted not only of representatives of the ESC and the space organizations ELDO and ESRO but also of the potential users of the …


Reciprocity In International Telecommunications Trade: A New Trade Barrier?, Sheryl Powers Jan 1984

Reciprocity In International Telecommunications Trade: A New Trade Barrier?, Sheryl Powers

Michigan Journal of International Law

To those advocating its use, reciprocity legislation is especially appropriate for the telecommunications industry. Only 5 percent of telecommunications equipment manufactured in the United States is exported for sale in other nations. Trade barriers, loyalty to domestic manufacturers and the importance of telecommunications to national defense systems have combined to restrict access to foreign markets in the telecommunications sector. To persuade other nations to increase market access in telecommunications, United States legislators added a requirement of reciprocity to two proposed bills, S.898 and H.R.5158. This note will examine these two bills, concluding that reciprocity is an inappropriate solution to United …


Integrated Servies Digital Network: Issues And Options For The World's Future Communications Systems, A. M. Rutkowski Jan 1984

Integrated Servies Digital Network: Issues And Options For The World's Future Communications Systems, A. M. Rutkowski

Michigan Journal of International Law

There has been virtually no public discussion of the significant public policy issues raised because of the intimidating nature of network engineering which forms the basis for nearly all the current dialogue. This paper discusses current ISDN developments, and sets forth an analytical framework within which these issues may be discussed.


U.S. Preparation For Itu Conferences: Warc '79, A Case Study, David B. Fenkell Jan 1984

U.S. Preparation For Itu Conferences: Warc '79, A Case Study, David B. Fenkell

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article traces United States preparation for international telecommunication conferences, focusing on WARC '79. First, a brief background of the ITU is presented, including the events leading to the decision to convene WARC '79. Secondly, with the aid of a recent Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) Survey, the article analyzes American preparation for the Conference. The third part considers the impact of U.S. preparation on the reservations taken at WARC '79. Finally, recent U.S. legislative actions aimed at improving U.S. preparation for international telecommunication conferences are examined.


Major Legal Issues Arising From The Use Of The Geostationary Orbit, Stephen Gorove Jan 1984

Major Legal Issues Arising From The Use Of The Geostationary Orbit, Stephen Gorove

Michigan Journal of International Law

The remarkable scientific and technological developments of the past three decades have resulted in the increasing use of the "geostationary orbit.” Advances in the technology of broadcasting, meteorological reconnaissance, tracking and data relay from orbital satellites, for example, have greatly enlarged its importance. The growing number of geostationary satellites and the anticipated increases in their use have evoked widespread concerns among many less-developed countries (LDCs) about the early preemption of available orbital positions by more developed nations. Attention has focused on the question of the maximum number of satellites that can be accommodated in the orbit. Although estimates have varied …


The Space Warc: International Accommodations For Satellite Communications, Martin A. Rothblatt Jan 1984

The Space Warc: International Accommodations For Satellite Communications, Martin A. Rothblatt

Michigan Journal of International Law

Communication satellites in geostationary orbit have the marvelous ability to permit information exchange across very large distances. These satellites can accomplish this feat because they are high enough above the earth's surface to be in the "line-of-sight" of microwave transmitters and receivers many thousands of miles apart. Although communication satellites were first used to relay information between continents, by the end of the 1970s they were being used increasingly to transmit information within large countries. This more recent usage, known as "domestic satellite service," is an attractive substitute for lengthy terrestrial microwave or cable networks.


Some Conflicting Trends In Satellite Telecommunications, David M. Leive Jan 1984

Some Conflicting Trends In Satellite Telecommunications, David M. Leive

Michigan Journal of International Law

Two broad trends are evident today in international satellite telecommunications. The first is a trend towards greater international regulation of the natural resources involved, the radio frequency spectrum and the geostationary satellite orbit. The second is a trend towards international and regional groupings in the provision of communications services among countries. Other articles in this volume discuss various aspects of one or the other of these trends, such as the 1985/1988 Space WARC, and regional satellite developments in Europe. Consequently, no attempt is made here to analyze the two trends fully. The principal point of this paper is to analyze …


Eutelsat: Europe's Satellite Telecommunications, Simone Courteix Jan 1984

Eutelsat: Europe's Satellite Telecommunications, Simone Courteix

Michigan Journal of International Law

In the 1950s long distance telephone communication by wire or Herz circuit was extremely limited and usually very expensive. In 1956, the installation of the first transatlantic telephone cable, TAT 1, signaled the beginning of the present era in intercontinental telecommunications. However, it soon became apparent that underwater cables would not meet the ever-increasing demand for communications created by expanding global economic activity. At the same time, radio communications also experienced growing demand, and suffered from overcrowded frequencies. It was therefore natural that the first application of telecommunications technology in space focused on the improvement of intercontinental circuits.


Steps Toward A European Agreement On Satellite Broadcasting, Frits W. Hondius Jan 1984

Steps Toward A European Agreement On Satellite Broadcasting, Frits W. Hondius

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article is a progress report, written at the beginning of 1983. It is about the unfolding of a new communications medium, satellite broadcasting, in Europe. It is very probable that by the time of publication, many new developments will have taken place. However, this analysis may still be helpful later on to allow those responsible for the development and use of this powerful new channel of communication to know what the expectations and apprehensions were in 1983. Feedback from history is indispensable to builders of the future, provided that someone is willing to commit to paper a record of …


Restrictions On Trade In Communication And Information Services, Geza Feketekuty, Jonathan David Aronson Jan 1984

Restrictions On Trade In Communication And Information Services, Geza Feketekuty, Jonathan David Aronson

Michigan Journal of International Law

Section one highlights some of the changes that the revolution in information exchange is producing. It also argues that transborder data flows could help facilitate international economic adjustment. Section two analyzes the types of reasons used to justify policy measures that inhibit the integration of the world communication network or prevent information from flowing across national borders. It also discusses the implication of restrictions on transborder data flows for the world trading system and for world economic growth. The final section discusses strategies for halting the proliferation of barriers to trade in communication and information services and for reducing existing …


The International Application Of The Second Computer Inquiry, Robert M. Frieden Jan 1984

The International Application Of The Second Computer Inquiry, Robert M. Frieden

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article chronicles the FCC's attempt to confront the confluence of telecommunications and data processing technologies by fashioning a regulatory scheme designed primarily for the United States. The Commission has chosen to apply this scheme, without significant qualification, internationally. Given the different objectives and structure of United States and foreign communications industries, the FCC's system cannot be transplanted abroad without prior consultation and substantial modification. After reviewing the international problems created by the Commission's application abroad of its newly developed scheme, this article concludes with recommendations for resolving these conflicts that currently threaten the well-being of carriers, customers, and international …


Private Leased Telecommunication Lines: Threats To Continued International Availabliltiy, Jill L. Martin Jan 1984

Private Leased Telecommunication Lines: Threats To Continued International Availabliltiy, Jill L. Martin

Michigan Journal of International Law

This article examines both actual and proposed actions by Japanese and European telecommunications authorities, known as Ministries of Post, Telephone, and Telegraph (PTTs), to restrict private leased line availability, and then explores the possibility that these actions presage the total elimination of private leased lines. It concludes that unless the United States government adopts a unified and reasonable policy opposing the escalation of regulations and restrictions, their deleterious effects will become more severe.


The Council Of Europe Convention Of The Oecd Guidelines On Data Protection, Jon Bing Jan 1984

The Council Of Europe Convention Of The Oecd Guidelines On Data Protection, Jon Bing

Michigan Journal of International Law

The first international legal instruments to be adopted were two Council of Europe resolutions in 1973 and 1974, the first on "the protection of the privacy of individuals vis-A-vis electronic data banks in the private sector," 9 and the second on "the protection of the privacy of individuals vis-A-vis electronic data banks in the public sector." This article will describe and compare the rules of data protection as they emerge in the instruments. Although this will require some assessment, the main objective will be to explain and amplify.


Current Issues In Remote Sensing, I. H. Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor Jan 1984

Current Issues In Remote Sensing, I. H. Ph. Diederiks-Verschoor

Michigan Journal of International Law

In this article certain problems surrounding Satellite remote sensing (SRS) will be addressed with particular emphasis on their legal implications. Aspects of air law as they affect remote sensing will not be discussed in any detail, nor will it be necessary to refer to the vexing problem of determining the satisfactory boundary between the airspace and outer space. This fundamental problem is still in dispute and under constant review, both in scholarly circles and in the United Nations; and the world community may consider itself fortunate that the issue has not prevented a number of important international agreements on space …