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    Digital Crossroads, third edition

    Telecommunications Law and Policy in the Internet Age

    Author Jonathan E. Nuechterlein, Howard A. Shelanski
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    Paperback
    $80.00 US
    | $105.00 CAN
    The MIT Press
    On sale May 12, 2026 | 456 Pages | 9780262052245
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    An incisive and thoroughly updated guide to U.S. telecommunications regulation—and what it can teach us about competition policy for Big Tech.

    In Digital Crossroads, two experts on telecommunications and tech policy offer a comprehensive and accessible analysis of the regulation of competition in the U.S. telecommunications industry. The first two editions of Digital Crossroads (also MIT Press) became essential guides for policymakers, lawyers, scholars, and students in a fast-moving and complex policy field.

    In this third edition, the authors have updated the book to include a wide range of industry developments that have reshaped telecommunications policy since the second edition’s publication in 2013. These include the rise and fall of common carrier regulation for broadband ISPs, further consolidation within the wireless industry, redoubled efforts to free up more spectrum for commercial uses, the increasing competitive significance of low-Earth-orbiting satellite broadband, and seismic shifts in broadband subsidy initiatives.

    The book also includes a new final chapter that explores what the history of telecommunications regulation can teach us about competition policy for today’s largest digital platforms. As the authors explain, many proposals for regulating tech markets bear a strong resemblance to the regulatory measures that U.S. policymakers have taken, with varying degrees of success, to promote greater competition within the telecommunications industry over the past 50 years. The authors conclude that the lessons learned from those regulatory experiments should inform today’s competition policy for Big Tech.
    ENDORSEMENTS

    “Eagerly anticipated by those in the field, the third edition of Digital Crossroads does not disappoint. The book is a must-have for anyone interested in the history and future of telecommunications law and policy.”
    —Daniel T. Deacon, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School

    “This new edition of Digital Crossroads is a comprehensive resource on telecommunications policy, providing clear overviews and in-depth analysis of the incentives, political motivations, and economics unavailable anywhere else. It is essential for policymakers, practitioners, and students.”
    —Greg Rosston, Gordon Cain Senior Fellow and Director of Public Policy Program, Stanford University

    “Digital Crossroads taught me telecommunications law. Reasonable readers may see some details differently, but the new edition reestablishes and strengthens the text’s status as the essential reference for every internet and telecommunications lawyer and scholar.”
    —Tejas N. Narechania, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law
    Jonathan E. Nuechterlein is Distinguished Scholar at George Washington University’s Competition Law Center, Lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law, and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law School. He formerly served as General Counsel of the Federal Trade Commission (2013–2016), Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (2000–2001), and Assistant to the Solicitor General (1996–2000).

    Howard A. Shelanski is Professor of Law at Georgetown University, where he holds the Joseph and Madeline Sheehy Chair in Antitrust Law and Trade Regulation, and a partner at Davis, Polk & Wardwell, LLP. He was formerly Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (2013–2017), Director (2012–2013) and Deputy Director (2009–2011) of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, Chief Economist of the Federal Communications Commission (1999–2000), and Senior Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (1998–1999).
    Jonathan E. Nuechterlein View titles by Jonathan E. Nuechterlein
    Howard A. Shelanski View titles by Howard A. Shelanski
    Preface to the Third Edition
    Chapter 1: The Big Picture
    I. Economic Principles
    II. Convergence, Layers, and Lessons for Tech Policy
    Chapter 2: Competition Policy in Wireline Telecommunications
    I. A Primer on Wireline Technology
    II. Traditional Telephone Rate Regulation
    III. Wireline Competition Policy Before 1996
    IV. Wireline Competition Under the 1996 Act
    V. The Twilight of Monopoly-Era Regulation
    Chapter 3: Spectrum Policy
    I. Overview
    II. The Nuts and Bolts of Spectrum Allocation and Assignment
    IV. The Future of Interference Policy
    Chapter 4: Mobile Wireless Services
    I. The Basics of Cellular Technology
    II. The Regulatory Landscape
    III. Competition Rules for the Wireless Broadband Ecosystem
    Chapter 5: A Primer on Internet Technology
    I. The Basics
    II. The Internet’s Physical Infrastructure
    Chapter 6: Net Neutrality and the Regulation of Broadband Internet Access
    I. The Historical Origins of the Net Neutrality Movement
    II. FCC Net Neutrality Regulation
    III. The Policy Dimensions of the Net Neutrality Debate
    Chapter 7: Interconnection
    I. PSTN Interconnection
    II. Proposals for Regulation of Internet Interconnection
    Chapter 8: Digital Equity
    I. The FCC’s Universal Service Fund
    II. Digital Equity Initiatives Under the 2021 Infrastructure Act
    Chapter 9: Competition Policy for Video Programming and Distribution
    I. The Basics of Linear Television
    II. Regulation of Relationships Among TV Programming Distributors
    III. FCC Efforts to Promote Competition and Diversity in TV Programming
    IV. Restrictions on Ownership of Television Broadcast Stations
    Chapter 10: Lessons for Tech Competition Policy
    I. The Stakes of the Debate
    II. Takeaways from Telecom Regulation for Intervention in Digital Platform Markets
    Acknowledgments
    Notes
    additional book photo

    About

    An incisive and thoroughly updated guide to U.S. telecommunications regulation—and what it can teach us about competition policy for Big Tech.

    In Digital Crossroads, two experts on telecommunications and tech policy offer a comprehensive and accessible analysis of the regulation of competition in the U.S. telecommunications industry. The first two editions of Digital Crossroads (also MIT Press) became essential guides for policymakers, lawyers, scholars, and students in a fast-moving and complex policy field.

    In this third edition, the authors have updated the book to include a wide range of industry developments that have reshaped telecommunications policy since the second edition’s publication in 2013. These include the rise and fall of common carrier regulation for broadband ISPs, further consolidation within the wireless industry, redoubled efforts to free up more spectrum for commercial uses, the increasing competitive significance of low-Earth-orbiting satellite broadband, and seismic shifts in broadband subsidy initiatives.

    The book also includes a new final chapter that explores what the history of telecommunications regulation can teach us about competition policy for today’s largest digital platforms. As the authors explain, many proposals for regulating tech markets bear a strong resemblance to the regulatory measures that U.S. policymakers have taken, with varying degrees of success, to promote greater competition within the telecommunications industry over the past 50 years. The authors conclude that the lessons learned from those regulatory experiments should inform today’s competition policy for Big Tech.

    Reviews

    ENDORSEMENTS

    “Eagerly anticipated by those in the field, the third edition of Digital Crossroads does not disappoint. The book is a must-have for anyone interested in the history and future of telecommunications law and policy.”
    —Daniel T. Deacon, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School

    “This new edition of Digital Crossroads is a comprehensive resource on telecommunications policy, providing clear overviews and in-depth analysis of the incentives, political motivations, and economics unavailable anywhere else. It is essential for policymakers, practitioners, and students.”
    —Greg Rosston, Gordon Cain Senior Fellow and Director of Public Policy Program, Stanford University

    “Digital Crossroads taught me telecommunications law. Reasonable readers may see some details differently, but the new edition reestablishes and strengthens the text’s status as the essential reference for every internet and telecommunications lawyer and scholar.”
    —Tejas N. Narechania, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley, School of Law

    Author

    Jonathan E. Nuechterlein is Distinguished Scholar at George Washington University’s Competition Law Center, Lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law, and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown Law School. He formerly served as General Counsel of the Federal Trade Commission (2013–2016), Deputy General Counsel of the Federal Communications Commission (2000–2001), and Assistant to the Solicitor General (1996–2000).

    Howard A. Shelanski is Professor of Law at Georgetown University, where he holds the Joseph and Madeline Sheehy Chair in Antitrust Law and Trade Regulation, and a partner at Davis, Polk & Wardwell, LLP. He was formerly Administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (2013–2017), Director (2012–2013) and Deputy Director (2009–2011) of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission, Chief Economist of the Federal Communications Commission (1999–2000), and Senior Economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (1998–1999).
    Jonathan E. Nuechterlein View titles by Jonathan E. Nuechterlein
    Howard A. Shelanski View titles by Howard A. Shelanski

    Table of Contents

    Preface to the Third Edition
    Chapter 1: The Big Picture
    I. Economic Principles
    II. Convergence, Layers, and Lessons for Tech Policy
    Chapter 2: Competition Policy in Wireline Telecommunications
    I. A Primer on Wireline Technology
    II. Traditional Telephone Rate Regulation
    III. Wireline Competition Policy Before 1996
    IV. Wireline Competition Under the 1996 Act
    V. The Twilight of Monopoly-Era Regulation
    Chapter 3: Spectrum Policy
    I. Overview
    II. The Nuts and Bolts of Spectrum Allocation and Assignment
    IV. The Future of Interference Policy
    Chapter 4: Mobile Wireless Services
    I. The Basics of Cellular Technology
    II. The Regulatory Landscape
    III. Competition Rules for the Wireless Broadband Ecosystem
    Chapter 5: A Primer on Internet Technology
    I. The Basics
    II. The Internet’s Physical Infrastructure
    Chapter 6: Net Neutrality and the Regulation of Broadband Internet Access
    I. The Historical Origins of the Net Neutrality Movement
    II. FCC Net Neutrality Regulation
    III. The Policy Dimensions of the Net Neutrality Debate
    Chapter 7: Interconnection
    I. PSTN Interconnection
    II. Proposals for Regulation of Internet Interconnection
    Chapter 8: Digital Equity
    I. The FCC’s Universal Service Fund
    II. Digital Equity Initiatives Under the 2021 Infrastructure Act
    Chapter 9: Competition Policy for Video Programming and Distribution
    I. The Basics of Linear Television
    II. Regulation of Relationships Among TV Programming Distributors
    III. FCC Efforts to Promote Competition and Diversity in TV Programming
    IV. Restrictions on Ownership of Television Broadcast Stations
    Chapter 10: Lessons for Tech Competition Policy
    I. The Stakes of the Debate
    II. Takeaways from Telecom Regulation for Intervention in Digital Platform Markets
    Acknowledgments
    Notes

    Photos

    additional book photo

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