A Lesson From the Landmark AT&T Breakup: Both a Sector-specific Regulator and Antitrust Enforcers Were Needed

Public Knowledge released the paper “A Lesson From the Landmark AT&T Breakup: Both a Sector-specific Regulator and Antitrust Enforcers Were Needed” by Senior Fellow Al Kramer. This paper discusses how the work of regulators and antitrust enforcers, working independently and with separate mandates, nevertheless complemented each other, to lead to the breakup of the AT&T Bell phone monopoly in 1984—marking a win for consumers and telephone competitors alike. The paper offers a deeper understanding of the history of the breakup and proposes that regulation can lay the groundwork for both more effective antitrust enforcement and the advancement of other public interest benefits. Just as antitrust and regulation should work in tandem, legislative ideas to strengthen antitrust and give agencies sector-specific tools should do the same. That means creating a new digital regulator. In the immediate term, it means passing bipartisan bills like the American Innovation and Choice Online Act and the Open App Markets Act.