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Federal policy aims to facilitate the development, adoption,
and use of new communication and information services while
addressing the universal availability of communication
technology. The primary policy vehicle is the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 (the 1996 Act), which was the first comprehensive
rewrite of the Communications Act of 1934 (the 1934 Act).
The 1996 Act modified previous legislation, including the
1934 Act and the Cable Act of 1992, and judicial
actions, such as the early 1982 consent decree in the breakup
of Ma Bell (AT&T).
The provisions of the 1996 Act fall primarily into five
major areas:
- Telephone service delivery
- Telecommunications equipment manufacture
- Cable television service delivery
- Radio and television broadcasting
- Internet and online computer service delivery.
In each of these areas the 1996 Act relaxed concentration
and merger rules for telecommunication companies, eliminated
cross-market entry barriers, and assigned new implementation
obligations to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The 1996 Act was created to achieve the following goals:
- To carry out the transition of the telecommunications
industry from a heavily regulated market to one based
on competition
- To improve the telecommunications network so that
consumers are able to send and receive voice, data, images,
and video at affordable rates
- To promote economic growth, job creation, and increased
productivity
- To further advance universal service to help deliver
educational, health care, and other social services.
Government policy further addresses economic equity in
Internet access and use through a number of programs and
provisions, including:
- Telemedicine. These provisions are covered in
a number of different Federal and State programs. USDA's
program provides small loans and grants to rural health
service providers. The program aims to improve telemedicine
communication and infrastructure for rural communities.
The 1996 Act provides funding through
its universal service program provisions.
- Distance learning. There are a number of Federal,
State, and local programs designed to aid in the provision
of distance learning programs. For rural communities,
the goal is to improve education programs by increasing
the breadth and depth of course curricula. USDA provides
small loans and grants to rural community education
providers. The 1996 Act provides funding through
its universal service program provisions.
- 2008 Farm Act. The 2008
Farm Act continued support for rural
communication and information programs.
The legislation renewed USDA's Rural Utilities Programs
in telemedicine and distance learning, created in
earlier Farm Acts, including providing loans for companies
bringing broadband facilities to rural communities.
The 2008 Farm Act also directed the Secretary of Agriculture
to develop a national rural broadband strategy.
- The American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act of 2009. The 2009 Act
includes $7.2 billion for broadband
deployment in unserved and underserved areas of the
country. The funds
are administered by the Department of Agriculture's Rural
Utilities Service (RUS) and the Department of Commerce's
National Telecommunications Information Administration
(NTIA). The 2009 Act also authorizes the
creation of the National
Broadband Plan by the Federal
Communications Commission,
to "ensure that all people of the United States have
access to broadband capability and...establish benchmarks
for meeting that goal."
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