Breaking Down the Barriers to Competition: A Brighter Future for Telecommunications

Most Americans now have more than a decade of experience with telephone competition, paying a lot less for much more. Long-distance phone calls cost half as much now as they did before competition, and there are hundreds more telephone products available to use at home, in the car, at the office or just about anywhere. Price cuts and diverse choices could soon come to local phone service and video services as well – if lawyers, regulators and politicians don’t get in the way.

In 1996, Congress passed legislation that was supposed to let local telephone companies, long-distance companies, and cable TV companies compete to offer you both phone and video services. Unfortunately, the law was long and confusing. The subsequent regulatory process was even longer and more confusing. As it turns out, many companies spent a great deal of time and energy on lawsuits and regulatory compliance rather than the business of competition.

Citizens for a Sound Economy Foundation wants to change all that. How? By helping citizens like you to send a clear message to both government and industry: We want full competition in telecommunications and the consumer benefits that go along with it now!

Breaking Down the Barriers to Competition:

A Brighter Future for Telecommunications

(PDF format, 19 pp. 468 Kb)