The Telecommunications Act of 1996 ("Act")1 is barely two years old, but it has been subjected to an intense and continuing scrutiny that most acts of Congress rarely experience. Initially hailed as a landmark event in the development of telecommunications deregulation, the Act on its first birthday was roundly criticized by consumer groups and members of Congress for failing to deliver on its purported promise immediately to end the decades-old local telephone monopoly and unleash competitive forces in both the local and long distance markets. The Act began its "terrible twos" not merely scorned for its unmet expectations but also under siege from the federal courts.
On December 31, 1997, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that sections 271 through 275 of the Act are unconstitutional.2 These sections are the "carrot" that Congress established to encourage the monopoly local telephone companies that were formerly part of AT&T and the Bell
