Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age [Hardcover]

Jonathan E. Nuechterlein (Author), Philip J. Weiser (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262140918 | ISBN-13: 978-0262140911 | Publication Date: February 4, 2005

Telecommunications policy profoundly affects the economy and our everyday lives. Yet accounts of important telecommunications issues tend to be either superficial (and inaccurate) or mired in jargon and technical esoterica. In Digital Crossroads, Jonathan Nuechterlein and Philip Weiser offer a clear, balanced, and accessible analysis of competition policy issues in the telecommunications industry. After giving a big picture overview of the field, they present sharply reasoned analyses of the major technological, economic, and legal developments confronting communications policymakers in the twenty-first century.Since the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, when Congress fundamentally reoriented the existing regulatory scheme, no book has cogently explained the intricacies of telecommunications competition policy in the Internet age for general readers, students, and practitioners alike. Digital Crossroads meets this need, focusing on the regulatory dimensions of competition in wireline and wireless telephone service; competition among rival platforms for broadband Internet service and video distribution; and the Internet's transformation of every aspect of the telecommunications industry, particularly through the emergence of "voice over Internet protocol" (VoIP). The authors explain not just the complicated legal issues governing the industry, but also the rapidly changing technological and economic context in which these issues arise. The book includes extensive endnotes and tables that cover relevant court decisions, FCC orders, and academic commentaries; a glossary of acronyms; a statutory addendum containing the most important provisions of federal telecommunications law; and two appendixes with information on more specialized topics. Supplementary materials for students are available at http://spot.colorado.edu/~weiserpj.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A magnificent achievement. As someone who has been involved over the last four decades in what was once known as the 'telephone' business, I found *Digital Crossroads* an extraordinarily lucid description and explanation of the revolutionary significance of its transformation into 'telecommunications.' *Digital Crossroads* is not exactly light bedtime reading, but for anyone attempting to grasp these changes in our digital age, it is full of clear explanations and fair-minded assessments of the continuing regulatory issues they raise. This is a marvelous book, and well worth working through from cover to cover, as I have done."--Alfred E. Kahn, former Chairman of the New York Public Service Commission and Civil Aeronautics Board, and Advisor to President Carter on Inflation

" Digital Crossroads brings fresh clarity to a complex subject. It is thorough, comprehensive, and insightful, and will prove invaluable to anyone trying to navigate the tumultuous changes of the digital age." The Honorable Michael K. Powell

" Digital Crossroads is an essential read for anyone interested in the history-making changes occurring in communications, an industry at the heart of the American economy. It lucidly explains how and why public policy must change to accommodate the Internet"s revolutionary impact on the way people communicate. This book is a long-overdue voice of insight and reason in a field too often marked by simplistic, self-serving rhetoric." Jim Crowe , CEO, Level 3 Communications, Inc.

"*Digital Crossroads* brings fresh clarity to a complex subject. It is thorough, comprehensive, and insightful, and will prove invaluable to anyone trying to navigate the tumultuous changes of the digital age."--Michael K. Powell

"*Digital Crossroads* is an essential read for anyone interested in the history-making changes occurring in communications, an industry at the heart of the American economy. It lucidly explains how and why public policy must change to accommodate the Internet's revolutionary impact on the way people communicate. This book is a long-overdue voice of insight and reason in a field too often marked by simplistic, self-serving rhetoric."--Jim Crowe, CEO, Level 3 Communications, Inc.

About the Author

Jessica Prata Miller, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maine, where she teaches biomedical ethics, ethical theory, and feminist theory. She has published several articles on the ethics of trust, and her book, Trust: A Philosophical Approach, is under contract with Broadview Press.

Naveen Prakash is Area Manager (Operations) ofthe Bundelkhand region with TARAhaat Informationand Marketing Services Ltd. He has extensive experienceworking on ICT projects in rural areas.

Philip J. Weiser is Associate Professor of Law and Telecommunications at the University of Colorado and Executive Director and Founder of the Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program. He was principal telecommunications adviser to former Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein during the Clinton administration and previously served as law clerk for US Supreme Court Justices Byron R. White and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Jonathan E. Nuechterlein is a partner at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP in Washington, DC. He served as Deputy General Counsel of the FCC in 2000-2001, as Assistant to the Solicitor General in 1996-2000, and as law clerk to US Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 702 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (February 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262140918
• ISBN-13: 978-0262140911
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #679,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Telecommunications for non-specialists, August 29, 2005

By 

Adele Fasick (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age (Hardcover)

In Digital Crossroads, the authors, both lawyers with experience in telecommunications, offer a readable guide to the complex regulatory policies shaping electronic communication. Starting with the economic principles that have guided government agencies through the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, they give a basic history of the development of wireline communication, primarily through telephone, and explain how the advent of wireless technology via radio, television, cell phones, and the Internet have affected policies and practices. Although it is not easy reading, both the technical and legal aspects of communication are made clear even to a reader who is neither a lawyer nor an engineer. The policies discussed in this book will affect every citizen who cares about obtaining and communicating information to individuals and groups. Understanding the background given here, will help individuals follow the current legislative news as Congress revises the 1996 Telecommunications Act. This is a book many community groups and activists should read and discuss.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars That rare combination: comprehensive and accessible, May 23, 2005

By 

Eleanor Stein "Visiting Professor, Albany Law... (Albany, New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age (Hardcover)

Digital Crossroads is that rare combination, a comprehensive and accurate -- but well-written and accessible -- presentation of the state of the technology, economics, and law driving today's complex telecommunications industry. I used it in my Albany Law School seminar on Telecommunications Law for the 21st Century, and students found it highly accessible--especially the technology chapters. The book is a real accomplishment: comprehensive, thoughtful, and forward-looking, without being swept away by the latest gimmick off the shelf. It is also an extremely well written and organized book, clear and authoritative. In addition, for either the practitioner or academic, the inclusion of relevant sections of the 1996 Telecommunications Act adds value and convenience. Making coherent sense of this industry, its history and trajectory, is a daunting challenge and one the authors met, apparently without flinching.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book - even if its a for a class, September 23, 2010

By 

Nathan A. Allen "lcdangel" (Midwest) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Digital Crossroads: American Telecommunications Policy in the Internet Age (Paperback)

This book is very good. It covers everything from the Baby bells, Natural Monopolies to Digital Rights Management

I thought the section on convergence was especially good.