‘96 Telecom Law Hasn’t Paid Off for Consumers, Groups Report

The lower cable and telephone prices promised by a 1996 law haven’t materialized for many customers, consumer groups reported Wednesday.

The widespread competition that the telecommunications law was supposed to have unleashed hasn’t happened, and as a result prices have not gone down as Congress and the administration envisioned, the report contended.

The Consumers Union and the Consumer Federation of America, both of which lobbied against the law, said cable television prices have jumped 21% and prices for in-state long-distance calls 10% since the law’s enactment Feb. 8, 1996. Local and long-distance rates have remained about steady, the report concluded.

“This law has been an abysmal failure to date,” said Gene Kimmelman, co-director of Consumers Union’s Washington office.

Decker Anstrom, president of the National Cable Television Assn., disagreed with the report’s findings. “Consumers have more choices every day. The last thing we need is a return to massive, sweeping federal regulation that would stifle investment and innovation,” he said.