 Bell-company planned capital expenditures, at least temporarily, and has led the Bell companies to reduce DSL prices and roll out service to heretofore unserved areas. In turn, cable television systems have responded by increasing the speed of their cable modem services. Broadband subscriptions have been increasing rapidly and may now accelerate in response to the lower prices. Verizon is even begin- ning to deploy fiber to the home, but uncertainty over future FCC rules and declining revenues may still impede such investments. At this early stage of development, it is difficult to see precisely how the speeds available from direct fiber connections will be used by households. Nevertheless, the continuing diffusion of broadband at greater speeds throughout the United States and elsewhere will undoubtedly spark further innovation in broad- band content. Telecom Reform in Other Countries elecom liberalization has now spread to virtually every developed country in the world and even many developing countries. Although the United States has had perhaps the most aggressive policy of encouraging local entry and has had long-distance competition for several decades, other countries have also opened their telecom markets to competition in recent years. The United Kingdom began by privatizing British Telecom in 1984 and opening entry into telecom services in 1985. Japan opened its national and international calling markets to competition in 1985, and Canada lib- eralized its long-distance market in 1992 and its local telecom markets in 1997.2 The European Union's Telecommunications Directive opened all EU telecommunications markets to competition in January 1998.3 Canada Canada was much slower than the United States in opening its telecom markets to competition. Several telephone companies were owned by provincial governments, and the federal government did not have regula- tory authority over the entire country until 1992. Regulatory Policy Canada admitted facilities-based entrants into long distance at the end of 1992 