WASHINGTON-If the chairman of Bell Atlantic Corp. had his way, all telecommunications would be regulated like wireless.
“Neither of us or the new competitors have wireless regulation, and we seem to compete very well. We need to move to a wireless model [where] the federal government deals with standards and enforcement … It is a much more deregulatory model,” said Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and chief executive officer for Bell Atlantic.
Seidenberg spent part of May 17-along with William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and Steve Case, chairman and CEO of America Online-celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Consumers League.
The three telecommunications giants participated on a panel after each gave his vision of telecom in the next century. Each of their visions included a strong reliance on the Internet and ensuring that every American is connected. “Location, location, location will no longer be destiny, rather it will be connection, connection, connection,” Seidenberg said.
In other news, shareholders of both Bell Atlantic and GTE Corp. last week overwhelmingly approved the companies’ plans to merge.
