This book analyzes the effects of dramatic technological, regulatory, and market changes on
competition in the last ten miles
of the telephone network--the most pivotal issue raised by the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Ingo Vogelsang is professor of economics at Boston University. Bridger M. Mitchell is a vice president of Charles River Associates.
Local
competition today appears as contentious as long-distance competition was in the early 1970s. And whereas in the 1970s AT&T faced competition mainly from what was then a tiny startup company called MCI, local service incumbents today are under attack from a host of entrants, ranging from small but financially well-backed competitive access providers, cable television companies, electric utilities, and cellular carriers to the mighty AT&T itself.