The Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs) have launched a coordinated campaign to convince both policymakers and stakeholders that their financial woes are attributable to Congressionally-mandated Federal Communications Commission policies necessary to open local telecoms markets to...

An analysis of investment by telecommunications firms before and after the 1996 Telecommunications Act reveals substantial increases in the level of investment and capital stock for this sector following the enactment of this important legislation. There is no evidence that the 1996 Act reduced...

In this Policy Bulletin, we evaluate Network Neutrality proposals from the standpoint of consumer welfare and economic efficiency by presenting a cost/benefit analysis framework for examining the effect on consumers of Network Neutrality proposals that would limit operators from injecting...

The purpose of this POLICY BULLETIN is evaluate the link between the FCC's Triennial Review and the erosion of market cap in the telecommunications industry by applying standard empirical tests to measure the effects of the Triennial Review on the stock returns (and, consequently, the market...

The purpose of this Policy Paper is to examine empirically the relative impact that a regulatory mandate like network neutrality would have on high-cost areas and to compare that relative burden to lower-cost urban areas. We find areas that are, on average, high-cost could be disproportionately...

This Policy Bulletin makes use of regression analysis to demonstrate that differences in UNE-P prices both across States and within States are due to genuine cost differences and differences in TELRIC, and are not because of regulatory failure by the States. These findings confirm an obvious...

This Paper discusses important economic characteristics of local exchange markets and the firms that participate therein. First, this Paper explains that entry into the local exchange market requires large fixed and sunk costs, making entry risky and necessitating scale economies. Consequently,...

This Policy Paper discusses important economic characteristics of local exchange markets and the firms that participate therein. First, this Policy Paper, building on the work in PHOENIX CENTER POLICY PAPER NO. 10, explains that entry into the local exchange market requires large fixed and sunk...

Given the conflicting characteristics of the telecoms business - i.e., huge dollars at stake on the one hand but the inherent "public utility" characterization of the industry on the other - public policy decision-making can often take on a surreal quality. After the events of the first half of...

This Policy Bulletin examines the Federal Communications Commission's decision to remove "new" Bell Operating Company fiber and "hybrid-fiber" facilities from the unbundling requirements of the 1996 Telecommunications Act as part of its Triennial Review. This Policy Bulletin demonstrates that...