The consumer reels in the aftermath: Changing rules, rising rates, questionable quality, and overwhelming options challenge the residential subscriber

Where divestiture has had a direct impact is in the fragmentation of the end-to-end network. The separation of long-distance service, local service, and telecommunications equipment has yielded as much proliferation of telephone products as confusion over who is supplying what. By creating a competitive environment, divestiture has also introduced gradations in the quality of service and a sometimes bewildering choice for users between quality and price. The controversy over access charges that has arisen in the aftermath of the divestiture of AT&T is discussed. Attention is also given to the movement of regional holding and operating companies into unregulated ventures. The difficulties that must be surmounted for the equal access concept to be implemented by September 1986 are discussed. Finally, the author considers the variation in quality that now exists among the various interexchange carriers.