 On January 3, 1996, the 104th Congress of the United States amended or repealed sections of the Communications Act of 1934 with the Telecommunications Act of 1996.It was the first major overhaul of American telecommunications policy in nearly 62 years.The Act largely combined and reorganized existing provisions of law, including provisions of the Federal Radio Act of 1927 relating to radio licensing, and of the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910 relating to telephone service.