This document provides the text of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, legislation enacted "to promote competition and reduce regulation in order to secure lower prices and higher quality services for American telecommunications consumers and encourage the rapid deployment of new telecommunications technologies." The legislation contains…

The goal of Section 254 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 is the "equality of affordable, comparably priced access to telecommunication services by schools, libraries, and hospitals regardless of geographic location." The purposes of this study were to provide decision support information to the Joint Board and Federal Communications…

Franchise fees are a tax imposed on a private entity to compensate a municipality for use of a public property for private gain. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 grants municipalities the right to assess a 5% franchise fee to both cable companies and competitors of cable companies, such as operators of open video systems. The Minnesota State…