How Consumers Will Benefit from Less Telecom Regulation

The evidence is overwhelming: Less telecommunications regulation benefits consumers. State regulatory oversight and its pervasive system of tests, filings, rules and requirements have had a negative impact on the investment decisions of incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) such as SBC and Verizon—the successors to the Bell System companies. In the end, consumers lost out.

Consumers have benefited, by contrast, in areas where there has been a lack of regulation, from wireless to satellite. Regulatory barriers affecting ILECS are fewer today than two decades ago. But there is still much work to be done. Continuing the process of deregulation will engender better prices, higher quality, more jobs, and a broader array of product offerings.