66. Telecommunications

In addition to focusing on the systems used by the end-users, there is legislation aimed at making sure that the telecommunications network itself is universally accessible. One example of this legislation is section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This section is a mandate to the FCC to encourage the deployment, on a reasonable and timely basis, of advanced telecommunications capability to all Americans. The section is designed to give the FCC tools by which to "encourage" the market to provide telecommunications infrastructure for everyone.

Specifically, the FCC should take measures that remove barriers to infrastructure investment and promote competition in the telecommunications market. One way to describe this section would be as an attempt to modernize the mandate of the Federal Communications Act of 1934 which was intended to make sure all Americans had telecommunications services, which at that time meant mostly phone and telegraph.

In trying to keep pace with the technological advances in telecommunications, the new definition of what is to be made universally accessible tries to de-emphasize technology. "Advanced telecommunications capability" is defined in the statute "without regard to any transmission media or technology, as high-speed, switched, broadband telecommunications capability that enables users to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video telecommunications using any technology."

"Telecommunications" is defined in the statute as "the transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user?s choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received." "Telecommunications service" is defined in the statute as "the offering of telecommunications for a fee directly to the public, or to such classes of users as to be effectively available directly to the public, regardless of the facilities used."