Searching for universal access: the public interest, the FCC and the regulation of international telecommunications

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to look at the way in which the “public interest” concept that was part of the US 1934 Communications Act has been defined and redefined in terms of international telecommunications over the 70 subsequent years.

Design/methodology/approach

The approach taken in the paper is to use case studies from three periods – the 1940s, the 1960s and the 1990s – to examine the concept of the “public interest” used by the FCC and other US agencies in relation to international communications. The empirical data comes from primary and secondary sources.

Findings

From the evidence of the case studies the paper concludes that the FCC has always been an international actor but has lacked a conceptualization of a division between domestic and international or of an international “public interest” that prioritizes the universal penetration of telecommunications. With the exception of the 1940s, US agency determination of the “public interest”, although often presented as benefiting US consumers, has primarily benefited US business users and carriers.

Originality/value

Spanning 50 years the paper brings evidence of the way in which the US political system has skewed the definition and redefinition of the concept of the “public interest” in the telecommunications sector to suit whichever national economic interest has pressed hardest. It shows how worldwide penetration of the technology has been linked to the interests of US carriers and business users.

Citation

Hills, J. (2007), "Searching for universal access: the public interest, the FCC and the regulation of international telecommunications", info, Vol. 9 No. 2/3, pp. 83-96. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636690710734698