This study gives an overview of the innovative telecommunications developments and regulatory trends in the US and worldwide. Many countries throughout the world have begun building their communications structures to become leaders of the future. In Asia, both Singapore and Japan are taking definite action while Europe, England, France, and Germany have all planned similar steps. The US, on the other hand, has initiated attempts at a national broadband network through Congress. However, the US is more of a battleground of competing industries and companies moving in the direction of a universal, publicly switched broadbrand network. Within the US, states and cities have moved to modernize themselves through their own telecommunications networks. Some of the noted examples are Tennessee, New Jersey, Seattle, and Dade County, Florida. The benefits of these networks extend to many areas. Government, education, health care, and business can all benefit from these networks through cost and efficiency.

Fiber optic technology has changed the face of communications systems, enabling tremendous amounts of information to be transmitted at high speed over a fiber the thickness of a human hair and is clearly the medium of choice to meet the developing needs for transmission of information. Because of the cable industry's historic configuration, it is easier and more economical for the cable companies to upgrade their systems to fiber than it is for the telephone companies. One telephone company head advocates that the two industries join forces to save on costs of building and maintenance. However, current public policies such as the 1984 Cable Act, the Modified Final Judgment (dismantling the Bell system), and the FCC's prohibition against cross-ownership make the task of joining these two industries difficult. It is uncertain what the near future will bring in terms of telecommunications regulation, although there is a gradual move towards decreasing regulation. One of the major issues concerns the idea of universal service, the foundation of the US long distance telephony; and universal access, becoming the new standard for communications.