Telecommunications Act of 1996

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major rewrite of the Telecommunications Act of 1934. Before the new act, the nation had seen the birth of television (both black and color); the increase of network, cable, and satellite broadcasting; advances in phone service; the birth and growth of cellular phone service; and the rapid increase in the use of computers and the Internet. The need for a major overhaul was long overdue. The previous act basically …

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