Telecom

The Pacific Research Institute has a harsh indictment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. See here (warning: PDF file). Here's an excerpt:

* California regulators have set some of the lowest forced-access rates in the nation, nearly 50 percent less than the actual cost of providing network services.
* SBC Communications Inc. slashed spending in California from $8 billion in 2002 to $5 billion in 2003 in response to a hostile investment climate.

Some recommended solutions are:

* The California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) should end forced-access; service providers should be allowed to negotiate network access on mutually beneficial terms.
* The California state legislature should boost economic growth by requiring the PUC to develop new rules integrating free market principles and eliminating obsolete policies; doing so would promote competition, investments and consumer welfare in the local telecommunications industry.

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