This report is the culmination of a 20-month study that included 4 public hearings in cities across the United States and elicited some 10,000 pages of written comments from interested members of the public. The report examines the significance of telecommunications and evaluates how telecommunications services improve both the international competitiveness of U.S. businesses and the quality of life of U.S. citizens. It also considers the technological and marketplace trends driving telecommunications development in the United States and elsewhere, and assesses the role of regulatory and other government policies in promoting the development of a telecommunications infrastructure to support present and future national needs. Six major topics are covered: (1) the existing infrastructure and policies affecting telecommunications; (2) the importance of telecommunications to business, education, and health care, and to providing Americans with disabilities with new opportunities; (3) the continued rapid technical changes in telecommunications and the role of the government in shaping those changes; (4) a comparison of the U.S. infrastructure with the infrastructure of other countries; (5) policies that would improve efficient investment in the infrastructure by increasing competition and decreasing regulation; and (6) the means for making universal service available on an optional, low-cost basis, throughout the United States. The report contains 40 statistical tables, half of which provide information comparing the infrastructures of the United States and other countries. Appendices contain a list of the initial and reply commentators at symposium and field hearings; an alphabetical list of commentator acronyms and abbreviations; a review of a DRI/McGraw Hill study that attempts to quantify the gains in the U.S. economy's productivity that are attributable to improvements in telecommunications infrastructure; additional data requirements and recommended methodological improvements; policies of other nations on telephone company involvement in cable; and a description of the availability and affordability of telephone service in the United States. (KRN)