Word: fcc
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Ever since Congress passed the Communications Act of 1934, the broadcasting industry has chafed under increasingly heavy regulation. The reason: the air waves were considered to be a limited resource that needed to be carefully controlled by Government in the public interest. But last week the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took a major step toward deregulation of the broadcast industry by relaxing a 31-year-old restriction on the number of radio and television outlets that a company can own. The old 7-7-7 Rule, as it was known, stated that no company could own more than seven...
...newcomers enjoy a special status because the Federal Communications Commission is allowing them to gain market strength. They are free to charge whatever they want without FCC approval. In contrast, A T & T rates are subject to Government review. A T & T historically has averaged its prices geographically, roughly equalizing them nationwide. The competitors can vary the prices from location to location, charging more for a 200-mile call, for example, in one area than another. A T & T is obliged to serve the whole country, while the new competitors can pick the most profitable traffic areas...
...FCC also announced two decisions that could increase phone bills by $1.3 billion annually, but these measures are expected to hit businesses primarily. The commission approved a special fee of up to $6 a line for business customers with multiline telephones. The FCC also allowed AT&T to charge 50? for longdistance directory assistance calls, which in the past have been free. Most families use that service only occasionally, and the FCC softened the blow for them by requiring AT&T to permit two free long-distance directory assistance calls a month. Businesses such as credit bureaus and marketing firms...
...FCC's rulings also had an impact on AT&T's long-distance competitors, such as MCI and GTE's Sprint. Since AT&T controls about 94% of the long-distance market, the agency has been trying to encourage more phone competition. The FCC last week reaffirmed its earlier decision that AT&T's competitors had to pay only 55% as much as AT&T to link up with local telephone networks. This means that the smaller companies should be able to continue charging lower prices than AT&T. Because of their discount rates...
Last week's FCC decisions grew out of a controversy that began last fall over whether telephone customers should pay special monthly fees for their long distance service. Originally the FCC proposed a monthly charge of $2 for residences and small businesses and $6 for larger firms. In September AT&T proposed cutting its long-distance rates by as much as 10.5%, or $1.75 billion, in the expectation that the FCC would put into effect the so-called access fees. But Congress effectively blocked their imposition in the face of public pressure over...