Testimony In Favor of Telecom Deregulation in Indiana

Most of the time when I speak to lawmakers on telecom deregulation, I find that they see the issue as a fight between companies or between industries, and they see their job as that of a referee in this fight. The idea is that companies and their battle for market share is what is driving the call for telecom reform.

This is a completely wrong view, though I understand why you might think that. You are heavily lobbied by companies and trade associations, and you know that both have a huge stake in the outcome. But you should not be tailoring your reform for any particular company or industry. You should be tailoring your reform for some new technology that you can’t even anticipate, because in fact ten years from now I assure you that people will be communicating and transmitting content in ways we can’t possibly anticipate.

In fact, what is driving reform is the fact that there are now multiple technologies for the distribution of content. It is changes in technology that is confronting you with the need to update your telecom laws.

Your telecom regulatory and tax structure is out of date. But don’t feel bad, just about everyone else’s is, too. The technology has simply moved beyond your policy.