me a staid, regulated monopoly through much of the twentieth century. Competition was reintroduced in stages, piece by piece: Terminal equipment and leased-line transmission services first became competitive, then long distance telephone calls, wireless telephony, Internet service, and finally local data and voice services. It was this piecemeal transition from monopoly to competition, a necessary change by any rational measure, that eventually led to the meltdown. The industry's most experienced leaders were monopolists at heart, some of whom had trouble adapting to a competitive world. New participants more used to competitive industries, as well as their investors, underestimated the power of entrenched monopolies. Regulators provided inconsistent guidance, at times encouraging massive investment, but often leading to endless litigation and regulatory uncertainty, eventually helping to create a most unpleasant investment climate. Acknowledgments I could not have produced this book without the assistance of the many people I have worked with over the years, both co-workers and clients, who have exposed me to a wealth of information that I hope to be able to share a tiny fraction of herein. I am especially thankful to my former teammates at the late lamented Arthur D. Little Inc. and the recently revived BBN Corp., and at gone-but-not- forgotten Digital Equipment Corp. I also wish to thank the many people I worked with on various standards bodies and, more recently, the many experts whom I have been fortunate to correspond with on the Internet. Credit is also due to Google, the greatest research tool ever developed, and the many informa- tion providers on the Internet. Special thanks also go to my wife, Judy Hyatt, and my children, Ethan and Amelia, for indulging me during the preparation of this book. Ma Bell and Her "Natural Monopoly," 1876-1969 The telecommunications industry has a deeply ingrained heritage of monopoly. Not that it always was one, or that it always needed to be one, but for almost a century, 