This inquiry evaluates claims made by stakeholders attempting to circumscribe the concepts of the public interest in the Voice over Internet Protocol policy debate using technology, competition, and the universal service as their foil. The three policy options under debate as stakeholders respond to the 2004 Federal Communications Commission Notice of Proposed Ruling-making 04-28, In the Matter of IP-enabled Services, are the layered approach, the functional approach, and, what this dissertation terms, the dichotomous approach. Each of these approaches to regulating VoIP is mutually exclusive. To help inform future policy debate on the regulation of new communication technologies, the following research questions are posed within the framework of the public interest: What interpretations of the public interest are reflected in stakeholder claims pertaining to VoIP regulatory policy and technology? What interpretations of the public interest are reflected in stakeholder claims pertaining to VoIP regulatory policy and competition? What interpretations of the public interest are reflected in stakeholder claims regarding VoIP regulatory policy and universal service? In what ways has the VoIP debate reflected changes over time regarding interpretations of the public interest? The central method of inquiry is a rhetorical analysis of stakeholder claims using techniques of issue frame analysis. It includes methods of contextual and symbolic language analysis to offer a more complete understanding of the nature of the policy debate surrounding VoIP. The literature will show how theorists recommend evaluating the frames that stakeholders seek to impose on the public interest. It provides a construct for examination of national policies driving a technology sector, telecommunications, that serves as a core component of the U.S. economy. This inquiry intends to inform future policy-making in the communications industry with respect to issues of economic competition, technological innovation and universal service. The broader purpose of this study is to inform discussion of issue framing by stakeholders regarding policy-making in the public interest. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2006. / January 20, 2006. / public interest, telecommunications, communication, internet / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephen McDowell, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Barney Warf, Outside Committee Member; Jonathan Adams, Committee Member; Marilyn J. Young, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_181547 |
| Contributors | Leahy, Kimberley (authoraut), McDowell, Stephen (professor co-directing dissertation), Warf, Barney (outside committee member), Adams, Jonathan (committee member), Young, Marilyn J. (committee member), School of Communication (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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