The U.S. telecommunications market is experiencing structural changes brought about by sharply falling telecommunication costs, privatization, the Internet and its related technologies, and a web of dynamic new relationships. The article gives a systematic perspective on this critical industry. Within the context of the 1996 telecommunications Act, 127 partnerships were mapped onto a framework consisting of the industry's major players. Interestingly, about 33% of these partnerships involved distribution companies trying to build large infrastructures in hopes of gaining economies of scale and scope. Communication and distribution company partnerships were also significant, given the need for distributors to gain direct access to individual consumers. Overall, these partnerships seem intended to create new value, gaining primary control over particular technologies, increasing market access, creating shelf space, achieving economies of scale and scope, preempting competitors, or simply hedging bets in a business world characterized by technological and regulatory uncertainty. INSET: The Telecommunications Act of 1996.