Ethical and regulatory issues facing the telecommunications industryPresident Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in February 1996. The act amended previous legislation , primarily the Communications Act of 1934. The legislation regulates the broadcasting of over-the-air television and radio stations, cable television operators, satellite broadcasters, landline telephone companies (local and long distance), and cordless phone. The general intent of the law was deregulation and competition. The law removed barriers between telecommunications companies, thereby promoting competition. Deregulation was also intended to provide consumers with a choice of local telephone services. In 1999, 98% of households had no choice in local services (Wikipedia, 2005). The passage of the law resulted in several mergers, including AT&T's purchase of TCI Corporation, the merger between Bell Atlantic and NYNEX, the merger between Qwest and US West, the merger between SBC and AT&T, and the merger between Sprint and Nextel. The objective of this document is to discuss the regulatory issues facing the telecommunications industry. In this document, we will discuss a list of best practices used in the telecommunications industry to resolve regulatory issues, best practices used in other industries to resolve regulatory issues, and how best practices can be adjusted to address regulatory issues in other industries. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 provided for deregulation of the telecommunications sector and increased competition. The law effectively deregulated the industry and increased competition, but it created regulatory problems. Regulatory issues include, but are not limited to, compliance issues, organizational issues and...... middle of paper ...... Agreement? Do! Retrieved October 23, 2005, from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/12/11/tech/main660486.shtmlCommunication Workers of America (2005). Spin-off from local phone Sprint. Retrieved October 23, 2005, from http://cwa-union.aflcio.ga0.org/sprint/page.jsp?itemID=27269619 Loube, R. (2003). Universal service: how much is enough? Journal of Economic Issues, 37(2), 433-440. Mercer Corporation (2005). Mergers and acquisitions integration strategy. Retrieved October 23, 2005, from http://www.mercerhr.com/service/details.jhtml;jsessionid=ADGI00GQ2AVY2CTGOUGCHPQKMZ0QYI2C?idContent=1000340Networkworld (2005). Sprint/Nextel was the easiest. Retrieved October 22, 2005, from http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/wan/009706.htmlWikipedia (2005). Telecommunications Act of 1996. Retrieved October 23, 2005 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecommunications_Act_of_1996