he Administration’s strategy to advance
broadband infrastructure and services
in the United States rests on a simple
tenet: A competitive environment – in which
the ingenuity of technologists, engineers, and
businessmen can fully express itself – pro-
vides the most effective and reliable tool to
identify the new technologies, products and
services that consumers need and want; and
to develop and deploy the most cost-effective
technical and commercial solutions to fill
those needs. This precept is not new: it is the
enduring legacy of a strong, bi-partisan con-
sensus forged over a decade ago.
he Administration’s strategy to advance
broadband infrastructure and services
in the United States rests on a simple
tenet: A competitive environment – in which
the ingenuity of technologists, engineers, and
businessmen can fully express itself – pro-
vides the most effective and reliable tool to
identify the new technologies, products and
services that consumers need and want; and
to develop and deploy the most cost-effective
technical and commercial solutions to fill
those needs. This precept is not new: it is the
enduring legacy of a strong, bi-partisan con-
sensus forged over a decade ago.
In enacting the Telecommunications Act of
1996, overwhelming majorities in both cham-
bers of Congress and the Executive Branch
enshrined the policy “[t]o promote competi-
tion and reduce regulation in order to secure
lower prices and higher quality services for
American telecommunications consumers and
encourage the rapid deployment of new tele-
communications technologies.”6
Mindful of
the remarkable potential of high-speed, high-
capacity, digital communications systems, the
Act specifically embraced as “the policy of
the United States . . .”
In enacting the Telecommunications Act of
1996, overwhelming majorities in both cham-
bers of Congress and the Executive Branch
enshrined the policy “[t]o promote competi-
tion and reduce regulation in order to secure
lower prices and higher quality services for
American telecommunications consumers and
encourage the rapid deployment of new tele-
communications technologies.”
to promote the continued development
of the Internet and other interactive
computer services and other interactive
media; . . . [and] preserve the vibrant and
competitive free market that presently
exists for the Internet and other interac-
tive computer services, unfettered by
Federal or State regulation . . . .7
Building on the policies Congress articulated
in the Telecommunications Act, the Admini-
stration has maintained a principled approach
to telecommunications policies, recognizing
that:
Building on the policies Congress articulated
in the Telecommunications Act, the Admini-
stration has maintained a principled approach
to telecommunications policies, recognizing
that:
▪ New technologies and services, such as
those supported by Internet Protocol
(IP)-based networks, are creating com-
petition in the telecommunications
market, allowing for deregulation;
▪ New technologies and services, such as
those supported by Internet Protocol
(IP)-based networks, are creating com-
petition in the telecommunications
market, allowing for deregulation;
▪ New technologies are making distance
irrelevant – and because the communi-
cations services supported by these
technologies are inherently interstate in
nature, jurisdiction over them should
reside at the Federal, rather than the
State, level;
▪ New technologies are making distance
irrelevant – and because the communi-
cations services supported by these
technologies are inherently interstate in
nature, jurisdiction over them should
reside at the Federal, rather than the
State, level;
▪ Specific social policy objectives – such
as support for 911 services, accessibility
for persons with disabilities or those re-
siding in rural or remote areas, and the
needs of law enforcement – may re-
quire regulation even in a competitive
environment; and
▪ Specific social policy objectives – such
as support for 911 services, accessibility
for persons with disabilities or those re-
siding in rural or remote areas, and the
needs of law enforcement – may re-
quire regulation even in a competitive
environment; and
▪ Telecommunications subsidies should
reflect the economics of new technolo-
gies and actual consumer needs.
▪ Telecommunications subsidies should
reflect the economics of new technolo-
gies and actual consumer needs.
These principles serve as the foundation for
three interlocking, mutually reinforcing ele-
ments that form the President’s broadband
strategy – technology policy, regulatory policy,
and fiscal/economic policy. The Administra-
tion, through the efforts of the National
Telecommunications and Information Ad-
ministration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department
These principles serve as the foundation for
three interlocking, mutually reinforcing ele-
ments that form the President’s broadband
strategy – technology policy, regulatory policy,
and fiscal/economic policy. The Administra-
tion, through the efforts of the National
Telecommunications and Information Ad-
ministration (NTIA) of the U.S. Department