The Telecommunications Challenge

Starting in the mid 1990s, the United States economy experienced an unprecedented upsurge in economic productivity. Rapid technological change in communications, computing, and information management continue to promise further gains in productivity, a phenomenon often referred to as the New Economy. To better understand the sources of these gains and the policy measures needed to sustain these positive trends, the National Academies Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) convened a series of workshops and commissioned papers on Measuring and Sustaining the New Economy. This workshop, entitled “The Telecommunications Challenge: Changing Technologies and Evolving Policies,” brought together leading industry representatives and government officials to discuss issues generated by the rapid technological change occurring in the telecommunications industry and the regulatory and policy challenges this creates. The workshop presented a variety of perspectives relating to developments in the telecommunications industry such as the potential of and impediments to broadband technology.