n, which is "a process requiring massive investment" from both British and international companies. Deregulation occurred in the 1980's and opened the door for cable companies to lay fiber optic cable to homes, which allowed them to not only offer telephone, but internet services as well. It has been estimated that more than 5 million homes have been wired with fiber optic cable. An increase of cellular telephone use and ownership also resulted from deregulation and about 50% of the population now owns a cell phone. Cable television also got its start in 1983 and now the cable television network is 96,000 km long and reaches nearly 20 million homes. This capability has in turn brought about the capability of cable internet services. From a business stand point the UK is also in a pretty favorable position, with most of their businesses having LAN or WAN capabilities and internet access. Although the telecommunication industry went through deregulation in 1984 the Office of Telecommunications (OFTEL), was established. OFTEL was a department of the government; however it was not bound by ministerial control. Its main objective was to monitor and enforce the conditions of telecommunication licenses in the region. These conditions establish what companies can and cannot do and all telecommunications companies must have a license to operate. These conditions of the license can be modified but these changes must be initiated by OFTEL. Recently the department name has been changed to Office of Communications (OFCOM), but the duties of the office have not changed.
             The UK is among the top ten countries in internet usage, however it is behind the U.S. and some other advanced nations in the realm of internet capabilities. Despite this fact, it is still very advanced in comparison with the rest of Europe and the world. The internet connection array ranges from dial-up to cable technology, T1, T3, satellite, and coaxial...