With the Passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the First

question 44

Multiple Choice

With the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the first significant overhaul of federal communications in over six decades, its supporters suggested that it would allow anyone to go into the communications business, increasing competition at the dawn of a new, Internet-driven information age.Ironically, however, one of its most notable effects was:

• A) hampering independent content and service provider growth by requiring a long and costly licensing process.
• B) leading cable television to dominate the media landscape for another two decades.
• C) an increase in the concentration of media ownership, through the encouragement of cable and telephone company mergers, and other media consolidation moves.
• D) slowing average Internet speeds in the United States, as compared to average speeds in most Western European or Asian Pacific nations.