544
Opinion of Breyer, J.
about the common objectives of competition and regulation alike, namely, low prices, better products, and more efficient production methods. But it authorizes the Commission to promulgate rules that will help achieve that procedural goal—the substitution of competition for regulation in local markets—where that transformation is economically feasible. See ante, at 539 (accepting this rationale). The Act does not authorize the Commission to promulgate rules that would hinder the transition from a regulated to a competitive marketplace—whether or not those rules directly mandate lower "element" prices along the way.
Five considerations, taken together, convince me that the description of the statutory goal I have just given is an accurate one. First, the Act itself says that its objective is to substitute competition for regulation. Preamble, 110 Stat. 56 (stating that the goal of the Act is to "promote competition and reduce regulation" in both local and long-distance telecommunications markets); see also H. R. Conf. Rep. No. 104-458, at 1; ante, at 489.
Second, the Act's history suggests the Congress would have thought that goal a reasonable one. The 20th century's history of telecommunications markets is primarily one of regulation. For decades experts justified regulation on the ground that telecommunications providers were "natural monopolists," i. e., telecommunications markets would not support more than one firm of efficient size. See ante, at 475-476. But beginning in the 1970's, technological developments led to a change of expert opinion by undermining the "natural monopoly" rationale. Long-distance telecommunications markets seemed newly capable of supporting several competing firms without significant economic waste. See R. Vietor, Contrived Competition: Regulation and Deregulation in America 185-190 (1994). And opinion began to change similarly in respect to local markets. In the case of local markets, however, the change was marked by hesitation and lingering uncertainty. See P. Huber, M. Kellogg, &
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