Communications in the United States include extensive industries and distribution networks in print and telecommunication. The primary telecom regulator of communications in the United States is the Federal Communications Commission.
American inventors and entrepreneurs made substantial contributions to development and commercialization of the radio, telephone, and television. The Internet protocol suite was developed with U.S. government funding.
See also: Copyright law of the United States, History of copyright law of the United States, Telecommunications policy of the United States, United States Department of State, Library of Congress, United States Copyright Office, Interstate Commerce Commission and Federal Radio Commission. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent government agency responsible for regulating the radio, television and phone industries. The FCC regulates all interstate communications, such as wire, satellite and cable, and international communications originating or terminating in the United States.
Significant laws in the history of U.S. telecommunications include:
Several laws relate to unsolicited commercial communications:
The FCC fairness doctrine regulation was in place from 1949 to 1987.
See main article: Newspapers in the United States, Books in the United States and Music of the United States.
See also: Global spread of the printing press, Early American publishers and printers, History of American journalism, History of American newspapers, History of photography, History of sound recording, Phonograph and History of film technology. Newspapers declined in their influence and penetration into American households in the late 20th century. Most newspapers are local, having little circulation outside their particular metropolitan area. The closest thing to a national paper the U.S. has is USA Today. Other influential dailies include The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal which are sold in most U.S. cities.
The largest newspapers (by circulation) in the United States are USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.
See main article: United States Post Office Department and United States Postal Service.
See also: The telegraph in United States history, Electrical telegraph, Timeline of North American telegraphy, American Letter Mail Company, Pony Express, First transcontinental telegraph, Transatlantic telegraph cable, U.S. Military Telegraph Corps, Signal Corps in the American Civil War, Typewriter and Wirephoto.
The legal monopoly of the government-owned United States Postal Service has narrowed during the 20th and 21st centuries due to competition from companies such as UPS & FedEx, although still delivers the vast majority of US mail.
See main article: History of the telephone in the United States.
See also: History of the telephone.
In 1890, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one telephone while a majority did by 1946 and 75 percent did by 1957.[1] [2]
Telephone system:
General assessment: A large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system.
Domestic: A large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country.
International: Country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000).
Telephones - main lines in use: 141 million (2009)[3]
Telephones - mobile cellular: 286 million (2009)[3]
See main article: Radio in the United States.
See also: History of radio and Wireless telegraphy.
In 1923, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one radio receiver while a majority did by 1931 and 75 percent did by 1937.[5]
Radio broadcast stations: AM: 4,669; FM commercial stations: 6,746; FM educational stations: 4,101; FM translators & boosters: 7,253; low-power FM stations: 1,678 (as of December 31, 2016, according to the Federal Communications Commission)
Radios: 575 million (1997)
See also: History of television, Cable television in the United States, Satellite television in the United States, High-definition television in the United States, Television news in the United States and United States cable news.
In 1948, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one television while 75 percent did by 1955, and by 1992, 60 percent of all U.S. households received cable television subscriptions.[6] In 1980, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one videocassette recorder while 75 percent did by 1992.
Television broadcast stations: 7,533 (of which 1,778 are full-power TV stations; 417 are class-A TV stations; 3,789 are TV translators; and 1,966 are other low-power TV stations) (as of December 31, 2016, according to the Federal Communications Commission); in addition, there are about 12,000 cable TV systems.
Televisions: 219 million (1997)
See also: List of United States broadcast television networks and List of United States cable and satellite television networks.
See main article: Internet in the United States. Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 7,600 (1999 est.)
Country code (Top level domain): US