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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Telecommunications Act Of 1996: Codifying The Digital Divide, Allen S. Hammond Iv
The Telecommunications Act Of 1996: Codifying The Digital Divide, Allen S. Hammond Iv
Federal Communications Law Journal
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 purports to ensure every American eventual access to advanced telecommunications networks and services, and more immediate access to basic telephone networks and services. This access is essential because it determines the ease with which Americans can acquire an education, obtain employment, control financial affairs, access emergency assistance, and participate in the political process. The interpretation and implementation of the 1996 Act is critical because there is an imminent danger that a large portion of society— in inner cities, near suburbs, and small towns— not be connected to the "national electronic nervous system." To ensure that …
Whither Unregulated Access Competition?, Clayton C. Miller
Whither Unregulated Access Competition?, Clayton C. Miller
Federal Communications Law Journal
Book Review: Universal Service: Competition, Interconnection, and Monopoly in the Making of the American Telephone System, by Milton L. Mueller, Jr., MIT Press and AEI Press, 1997, 191 pages.
Universal Service In The Schools: One Step Too Far?, Christine M. Mason
Universal Service In The Schools: One Step Too Far?, Christine M. Mason
Federal Communications Law Journal
Universal service is extended to include new recipients, such as schools, as a result of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The FCC should proceed cautiously, and maintain its commitment to the traditional goal of universal service— Americans with basic telephone services— carrying out this new mandate.
All Wired Up: An Analysis Of The Fcc's Order To Internally Connect Schools, Roxana E. Cook
All Wired Up: An Analysis Of The Fcc's Order To Internally Connect Schools, Roxana E. Cook
Federal Communications Law Journal
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 extends universal service support to schools and libraries. Pursuant to this legislation, the FCC has provided all eligible schools with discounts of between twenty and ninety percent on telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections— to a 2.25 billion dollar annual cap. Critics have denounced the subsidy for internal connections as unsupported by the Act's language and outside the FCC's authority. However, based on a plain reading of the statute, on case law, and on legislative history, it is clear that the FCC properly exercised discretion in allocating the potential fund.