Regulatory imputation is the allotment of profits from an unregulated subsidiary to a regulated subsidiary with the express purpose of reducing the latter's 'revenue requirements'. Here the authors examine the implications of regulatory imputation from the perspective of shareholder risk and...

Since the AT&T divestiture, the Federal Communications Commission has been attempting to introduce competition into the telecommunications industry in the USA. This article discusses the problems of the transition period, particularly the contradictions between the policy of widespread...

The competitive experiment in the US telecommunications industry has been characterized by asymmetric regulation, by which is meant a non-uniformity in the rules that apply to marketplace entrants vis-à-vis the market incumbent. Two distinct stages of asymmetric regulation can be identified...

This article outlines the economic principles necessary for understanding the issues of cross-subsidization and price predation using a series of straw men, or myths, involving regulatory costing and pricing. It is shown that to ensure that a firm is not cross-subsidizing it is sufficient that...

The failure of a telecommunications central office in Hinsdale, Illinois, in May 1988 caused widespread service outages and brought the local economy to a virtual halt. In the process it highlighted the emerging market for back-up networks. At present local exchange carriers are obliged to offer...