14.3: Organization of Telecommunications
The bulk of telecommunications is in private ownership, although there are notable examples of public, non-profit owners and government owners of such infrastructure.
As an example, the Internet has multiple companies providing services. Individual companies or individuals may maintain local area networks which are connected to Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In turn, the ISPs connect to backbone service providers. In effect, the Internet is a network of networks with routers handling packets of information. Protocols and management guidance is provided by organizations such as the Internet Society.
Regulation of telecommunications is also distributed. In the US, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable.
Allocation of the electromagnetic radio spectrum is a major activity in telecommunications regulation. In essence, users do not want interference in using allocated parts of the spectrum. Broadcast radio stations were among the first to have allocated frequencies which were managed to prevent signal interference. As illustrated by the 2016 United States frequency allocation chart in Figure 14.3.1, a very large number of spectrum users must now be accommodated.