My major is in Communications with an emphasis on electronic media.  I think it would be appropriate to write a paper on the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  I know the act covers a wide range of topics and I'm still not yet sure how to break it down.  I know for certain that I will focus on what the act was theoretically supposed to do and what actually happened in the years following its passage. 

Some of the subtopics would be:

• Overview of the act

• How the act affected competition within the telecom industry

• Impact on society as a whole

• Impact on freedom of speech

• Failure of the Common Decency Act

• Impact on democracy

John Padilla