Overview
A comprehensive statutory framework for U.S. communications policy, covering telecommunications and broadcasting was first created in the Communications Act of 1934 (“1934 Act”).[1] The Act created the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) to implement and administer the economic regulation of the interstate activities of the telephone monopolies and the licensing of spectrum used for broadcast and other purposes. It explicitly left most regulation of intrastate telephone services to the states.
In the 1970s and 1980s, a combination of technological change, court decisions, and changes in U.S. policy permitted competitive entry into some telecommunications and broadcast markets. In 1996, Congress passed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (“1996 Act”),[2] which significantly amended the 1934 Act and opened up markets to competition by removing unnecessary regulatory barriers to entry.
Title I
Title I of the 1934 Act stated that the Act “applies to all interstate and foreign communications by wire or radio,”[3] and the legislative history of the Act indicated that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has “regulatory power over all forms of electrical communication,” even those not explicitly mentioned in the Act.[4] Title I confers upon the Commission the authority to promulgate regulations “reasonably ancillary to the effective performance of the Commission’s various responsibilities” outlined elsewhere in the Act.[5]
The 1934 Act originally called for a commission consisting of seven members, but that number was reduced to five in 1983. Commissioners are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate to serve five-year terms; the President designates one member to serve as chairman. No more than three commissioners may come from the political party of the President. Title I empowers the Commission to create divisions or bureaus responsible for specific work assigned and to structure itself as it chooses.
Title II
Title II of the Communications Act, imposes certain specific requirements on common carriers in their provision of telecommunications services. Generally, Title II requires common carriers to provide service “upon reasonable request therefor,” and at a “just and reasonable” rate.[6] Under Title II, common carriers are also required to provide services without “unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices, classifications, regulations, facilities, or services.”[7]
In addition, the Act requires certain carriers to provide potential competitors with access to their network.[8] Entities regulated under Title II may also be subject to additional requirements governing universal service support, the provision of disability access, public safety, consumer protection, and law enforcement access.
The 1934 Act limits FCC regulation to interstate and international common carriers, although a joint federal-state board coordinates regulation between the FCC and state regulatory commissions.
References
- ↑ 47 U.S.C. §151 et seq. The Act has been amended numerous times, most significantly in recent years by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56 (1996). A compendium of communications-related laws is available here. It includes selected Acts within the jurisdiction of the Committee, including the Communications Act of 1934, Telecommunications Act of 1996, Communications Satellite Act of 1962, National Telecommunications and Information Administration Organizations Act, Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act, Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), as well as additional communications statutes and selected provisions from the United States Code. The compendium was last amended on December 31, 2002.
- ↑ Pub. L. No. 104-104, 110 Stat. 56.
- ↑ 47 U.S.C. §152(a).
- ↑ S. Rep. No. 73-781, at 1 (1934). See also United States v. Southwestern Cable Co., 392 U.S. 157 (1968).
- ↑ Id. at 178.
- ↑ 47 U.S.C. §201.
- ↑ Id. §202.
- ↑ Id. §251(a) (establishing general duties of common carriers) and §§251(c)(2) and (3) (relating to duties of incumbent local exchange carriers). See also id. §201(a)(requiring nondiscriminatory access).