The second information revolution

1. Introduction

The promise of regulation

Conceptual framework

2. The first information revolution

The development of telegraph services

The telephone and state regulation

Radio and federal regulation

3. Technological origins of the second information Revolution, 1940-1950

Radar

The transistor

Electronic digital computers

4. The SAGE project

I. The separate worlds of computers and communications, 1950-1968

5. The early semiconductor industry

The creation of a competitive market

Innovation and the integrated circuit

Falling prices, rising output

6. The early commercial computer industry

Vacuum-tube and transistor computers

The system/360 and IBM dominance

Alternatives to IBM computers

7. The regulated monopoly telephone industry

Antitrust and the 1956 consent decree

Microwave technology and potential long distance competition

Central office switches

Terminal equipment

II. Boundary disputes and limited competition, 1969-1984

8. Data communications

Packet-switching and the arpanet

Network protocols and interconnection

Local area networks and ethernet

9. From mainframes to microprocessors

Intel and the microprocessor

Personal computers and workstations

10. The computer-communications boundary

Computer-assisted messages: Communications or data processing?

Smart terminals" Teletypewriters or computers?

Interconnection of customer-owned equipment with the telephone network

The deregulation of terminal equipment

The deregulation of enhanced services

11. Fringe competition in long distance telephone service

Competition in specialized services

Competition in switched services

The transition to optical fiber

12. Divestiture and access charges

The divestiture

Access charges

The enhanced service provider exemption

III. Interconnected competition and integrated services, 1985-2002

13. Mobile telephones and spectrum reform

Early land mobile telephones

Cellular spectrum allocation

Cellular licensing problems

Spectrum instructional reform

PCS and auctions

14. Local competition and the Telecommunications Act of 1996

Competitive access providers

Interconnection: CAP to CLEC

The Telecommunications Act of 1996

Implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996

15. The Internet and the World Wide Web

The commercial Internet and backbone interconnection

The development of the Web

The new economy financial boom and bust

Real growth in telecommunication and price benefits

16. Conclusion

Technological progress and policy evolution

The process of institutional change

Final comment.