Overview

Deregulating Telecommunications critically examines the transition from monopoly to competition in the U.S. and Canadian telecommunications industries. Accessibly written with a minimum of technical language, this thorough yet concise book looks at the history of the telephone industry, its regulation, and over a century of related public policy. Featured are discussions of the roles of public sector institutions, private sector actors, and processes and policies concerning rates, subsidies, licensing, and rules governing interconnection of networks, among other key issues. This valuable comparative analysis shows the U.S. influence on Canadian policy, offers insights on the policymaking processes in both countries, and moves us toward a better critical understanding of the contemporary telecommunications environment.

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9780847698240

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Reviews

At this critical time when the telecommunications industries in the United States and Canada are converging, Wilson 's book provides a vital overview of how the industry evolved and how it was shaped by changes in technology, corporate strategy, government policy, and public intervention.--Mosco, Vincent

Deregulating Telecommunications is a thoughtful, well-grounded analysis of the regulatory transformation in this arena, one that provides academics, policymakers, and lawyers useful ways to understand not just the past but the emerging landscape. The comparative approach provides rich opportunities to understand the context and implications of policy choices. -- Patricia Aufderheide, American University With a fascinating historical approach, Deregulating Telecommunications is a unique and comprehensive comparative sketch of a complex dynamic in the telecommunication private and public sectors and the regulatory process in the United States and Canada. It fills an existing gap in the related literature and is a must-read book for students of communication policy, legal professionals, and communication scholars in general. -- Abbas Malek, Howard University At a time when scholars, policymakers, and active citizens everywhere are compelled to think about the future shape of telecommunications in the new global information environment, Kevin Wilson reminds us how important it is to understand clearly where our national regulatory regimes came from, how they have evolved, and what forces have made them the way they are. -- Marc Raboy, University of Montreal Kevin Wilson's Deregulating Telecommunications offers a superior introduction to the history and evolution of telecommunication policymaking in the United States and Canada. As media, computing, and telecommunications continue their inexorable convergence, an understanding of telecom policymaking will be mandatory for all scholars and students of media and communication. This book is where they should begin their search. -- Robert W. McChesney, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Kevin G. Wilson's study of the United States and Canadian telecommunications industries succeeds admirably in its stated purpose of making the complex, interdisciplinary knowledge of telecommunications policy accessible to students of communications. Prometheus At this critical time when the telecommunications industries in the United States and Canada are converging, Wilson's book provides a vital overview of how the industry evolved and how it was shaped by changes in technology, corporate strategy, government policy, and public intervention. -- Vincent Mosco, Carleton University This volume provides an excellent survey of the development of the U.S. and Canadian telecommunications industries, and describes how they were regulated under traditional regulation of natural monopolies. Wilson succeeds in his goal. He provides a detailed, but readable, historical analysis of regulatory change in the U.S. and Canadian telecommunications industries. This book is best used in telecommunications management and policy courses. Upper-division undergraduate through faculty collections. CHOICE This intellectually robust treatise reminds us that yesterday's answers are largely irrelevant for today's conundra and inappropriate to solve tomorrow's dilemmas. Telecommunications Policy

Author Information

Kevin G. Wilson is professor of communications at TZlZ-universitZ, the distance learning university of the UniversitZ du QuZbec.

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