Law Student Publishes Book; Hits Communications Monopoly

A Harvard law student's report for Ralph Nader--to be released as a book this July--concludes that collusion between the federal government, domestic communications interests, and regulatory agencies has prevented the development of cheap communication by satellite.

Michael E. Kinsley '72 said yesterday his book, "Outer Space and Inner Sanctums," shows that although the government gave the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) control of the development of satellite communication in 1962, the company had "not applied the technology" and continued to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on land and underseas cables.

"The decision was made on the grounds that private enterprise is better," Kinsley said. "It was an example of turning over a public decision into private hands."

"The entire thing represents a violation of anti-trust principles," he continued. "Everything the liberal opposition said at the time has proven true."

Kinsley said that neither the Federal Communications Commission nor any other regulatory agency has ever reviewed the AT&T monopoly. He said Nader may call for hearings as a result of the publication of the book.

Nader could not be reached for comment last night.

Kinsley, a Rhodes scholar and a former Crimson editor, said writing the book, which took him four years and numerous revisions, had been a 'bottomless pit."

Kinsley said he began the investigation during the summer of 1971 when working for Nader "on the idea that I could finish it within two months." But, Kinsley said, "I couldn't even finish it for a thesis."

He added that he had "expunged the Naderisms" and tried presenting one version of the book as an economics masters thesis at Oxford but the readers had not found it economically rigorous enough.

Kinsley said his book is a political analysis.

He said he was determined to write it because "it should cost the same to call Europe as it does to call California and it should cost much less to call California."