The Mythology of the Kingsbury Commitment

In December, exactly 100 years will have passed since the 1913 "Kingsbury Commitment" was written. This centennial has renewed interest in the consent decree, which ended antitrust charges against AT&T in exchange for concessions aimed at curtailing AT&T's alleged 1913 market power.

In recent decades, the Kingsbury Commitment has acquired many new meanings, some quite distant from the original consent decree. Is the Kingsbury Commitment a positive example of the government using its law enforcement powers as a tool to promote policy positions? Or is Kingsbury an example of governmental overreach and the hubris of power?

We welcomed Robert Crandall and John Thorne to discuss the significance of the Kingsbury Commitment, especially in light of current market conditions for communications services.