Deja Vu All Over Again? UNE article just out from Heritage

by on December 14, 2004

Heritage just released this article on the upcoming UNE vote by the FCC:

Telecom Competition Rules: D©j  Vu All Over Again?
by James L. Gattuso
WebMemo #621
December 14, 2004

On December 15, the Federal Communications Commission is expected to vote on regulations requiring telephone companies to lease, or “unbundle,” parts of their networks to competitors. The FCC has adopted rules on this subject three times since 1996, and all three times the rules have been struck down by the courts as overreaching.

On this fourth try, the FCC needs to get it right. This means limiting mandatory unbundling rules to markets where competition otherwise could not feasibly exist. Importantly, any such determination should take into account competition from new communications services, such as wireless and Internet telephony. The result would benefit consumers, as well as avoid an embarrassing fourth defeat for the FCC in court… (read the rest)

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James Gattuso / James Gattuso is a Senior Research Fellow in Regulatory Policy in the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Gattuso also leads the Enterprise and Free Markets Initiative at Heritage, with responsiblity for a range of regulatory and market issues. Prior to joining Heritage, he served as Vice President for Policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and also as Vice President for Policy Development with Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE). From 1990 to 1993, he was Deputy Chief of the Office of Plans and Policy at the Federal Communications Commission. From May 1991 to June 1992, he was detailed from the FCC to the office of Vice President Dan Quayle, where he served as Associate Director of the President's Council on Competitiveness. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife Dana, 8 year-old son, Peter (whom he relies upon to operate his VCR), and his four year-old daughter Lindsey (who does the DVD player.) He has no known hobbies, but is not nearly as boring as he seems.

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