Telecom Regulation for the 21st Century: Avoiding Gridlock, Adapting to Change

INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 380 I. AVOIDING GRIDLOCK: A FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM FOR THE TELECOM INDUSTRY IS A GRIDLOCKED REGULATORY PROCESS........................................................... 381 A. General Reasons for Regulatory Gridlock.......................... 384 B. Telecom Act As a Specific Cause of Gridlock ................... 384 II. REDUCING REGULATORY GRIDLOCK WILL ENCOURAGE TELECOM RECOVERY ...................................... 387 A. Reduce Gridlock By Adopting And Then Following Guiding Principles And Policies ........................................ 387 B. Reduce Gridlock By Deregulating Retail Services ............. 389 C. Reduce Gridlock By Resolving All Carrier-to-Carrier Issues Only Through Interconnection Agreements and Commercial Arbitration, Never By Regulators .................. 391 D. Reduce Gridlock By Developing Better Evidence Through Experiments ........................................................ 394 E. Reduce Gridlock By Streamlining Remaining Regulatory Processes........................................................... 396 III. ADAPTING TO CHANGE: REGULATION MUST ADAPT QUICKLY TO DIFFERENT AND CHANGING MARKET CIRCUMSTANCES ..................................................................... 398 A. Circumstances Vary Widely By Geographic Market ......... 399 B. Circumstances May Change Substantially Over Time ...... 401 IV. IF NEW LEGISLATION IS NEEDED, REPEAL THE 1934 ACT AND START FROM SCRATCH WITH A SIMPLE, ADAPTABLE LAW..................................................................... 403 A. Principles for a New Telecom Law .................................... 404