In 1989-90 three Congressional hearings received testimony on the need for modern telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas and the ways such infrastructure could foster rural economic development. A researcher on rural development reported findings that deregulation policies had removed incentives for telecommunications companies to serve rural areas, and that government assistance in rural telecommunications development would be necessary for rural areas to have equal access to information services and to compete in the national economy. Testimony by Congressmen and representatives of telecommunications companies and federal and state regulatory agencies discussed: (1) competition versus monopoly in public utilities, and the effects of each on the consumer; (2) the Rural Electrification Administration's Telephone Loan Program and rural cooperatives; (3) improving rural educational opportunities through telecommunications technology; (4) regulation of cable television companies; (5) the conditions under which rural customers receive telecommunications services; and (6) specific recommendations for legislation. An extensive presentation by Bell Atlantic describes how a public broadband network integrating audio, visual, and computer technologies could affect the everyday lives of future American consumers. (SV)