The Impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 on the Merger of RBOCs and MSOs: Case Study: The Merger of US West and Continental Cablevision

Abstract

In addition to technology's eroding boundary lines, deregulation also has the power to affect the structure of the communications industry. With the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, cross-ownership between telephone and cable industries would be expected to happen often in the following years. The merger of US West and Continental Cablevision Inc. is the first case after deregulation. It is helpful to explore the economic efficiencies and the search of market power from this case to forecast the market structure and conduct strategies of future mergers in the electronic media and telecommunication industries.