Regulatory Federalism in the Age of Broadband: A U.S. Perspective

Abstract

Broadband is poised to transform many sectors of the economy in the United States. Indeed, the federal government, via the President, Congress, and the Federal Communications Commission, has identified this technology as a key tool for realizing an array of "national purposes," including fundamental changes to how healthcare, energy, education, and an array of other services are delivered to and consumed by citizens. However, as broadband begins to inure itself into the business models of services that are largely regulated by the states, novel questions regarding the proper scope of regulatory federalism-that is, the ways in which federal and state government share oversight of a wide range of industries, from telecommunications to energy to healthcare-are likely to arise. This article examines the historical balance of federalism in the regulation of communications services, healthcare, and energy, identifies novel issues that have arisen and that are likely to arise as broadband is used to transform these services, and proposes a framework for efficiently and effectively addressing these issues.

Multilevel Governance and Broadband Infrastructure Development: Evidence from Canada

“…In the United States the tension between the local nature of network infrastructure deployment and scale economies in its management provides the basis for a long history of debates about the authority of state and federal governments in telecommunications policy (Lyons, 2010;Nuechterlein & Weiser, 2005;Santorelli, 2010). More recently, the impetus for policy coordination and centralization of broadband network access regulations in the European Union has also highlighted this tension (Brito, Pereira, & Vareda, 2011;Simpson, 2011).…”

Editorial

“…The fourth article by Santorelli (2010) turns to questions of regulation of broadband in the U.S., where the federal government has identified this technology as a key tool for realizing an array of "national purposes," including improvements to healthcare and education. The paper explores the model of regulatory federalism that has developed in the U.S., where federal and state governments will share oversight of a wide range of industries.…”