Enhancing California's Competitive Strength:
A Strategy for Telecommunications Infrastructure
We believe that this landmark study and report endures as one of the more carefully reasoned and measured strategies for developing any kind of advanced telecommunications and information infrastructure. If anything, the 1993 report's analysis of technology trends and its specific recommendations for reconciling an innovative competitive market with the public interest were validated by the nation's actual experience with DSL and cable modem growth, difficult unbundling rules and limited local competition over the subsequent decade.
Although seen as fairly radical in its proposals at the time, the Telecommunications Infrastructure Strategy Report was unanimously adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission and accepted by the Governor in 1993. The Report specifically:
This study and report was developed for the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) by its Division of Strategic Planning. Ernie Ting, Principal of Ernest S. Ting and Associates, was the project supervisor. Mr. Ting also directed the development of the CPUC's internal 1991-92 Strategic Plan for the telecommunications industry, on which many elements of the Infrastructure Strategy were subsequently drawn.
The original report may be viewed at this site in Adobe Acrobat (PDF)
format. The report text is available in sections. Each section
is available in a high-quality, but large PDF file exactly as it appeared
in its original printing -- as well as a much smaller file in alternate
fonts and somewhat lower resolution which will download much more quickly
over dial-up connections. (Note that the smaller file was created
by the use of optical character recognition software, and may contain minor
errors introduced in the process of converting formats.)
Section 1 -- Cover Page, Title Page, Transmittal Letter, Acknowledgements,
Contents, Executive Summary, Chapter I (A Vision for California's Telecommunications
Future)
Compact Version
(approx. 300KB)
High-Quality Original
Format (approx. 1.8MB)
Section 2 -- Chapter II (Principles to Guide the Vision), Chapter III
(Specific Policies to Encourage Innovation and Competition)
Compact Version
High-Quality Original
Format
Section 3 -- Chapter IV (Understanding the Challenge Ahead -- Why a
Technology-Specific Path is Unwise), Chapter V (Critical Network Planning
Issues), Chapter VI (Making the Telecommunications Infrastructure Work
for California)
Compact Version
High-Quality Original
Format
Section 4 -- Appendix 1 (Specific Recommendations), Appendix 2 (List
of Participants)
Compact Version
High-Quality Original
Format
Section 5 -- Appendix 3 (Agendas from Public Hearings March - July 1993),
Appendix 4 (Assessment of California's Telecommunications Infrastructure
Today), Notes, Glossary
Compact Version
High-Quality Original
Format