This book provides vital information on the business, technical, legal and practical considerations in the 'New Telecom World Order'. The book offers a complete overview of the new technologies and marketing methods that new competitors are using around t

This new volume updates the groundbreaking analysis of its first edition in 2002, when the EC common regulatory framework for electronic communications networks and services had just entered into force. So much has changed in the intervening years that that this new edition bears little resemblance to its predecessor, with every chapter either extensively altered or entirely new. It remains, however, the most detailed and comprehensive overview available of the application of the EC Treaty's competition rules in the markets for telecommunications and audiovisual media, and of the applicable regulatory framework. In thirteen chapters, each contributed by one or more noted legal authorities in the field, the second edition of EC Competition and Telecommunications Law covers the full range of EC telecommunications law across all major areas of both institutional and substantive law, both on the international and EC levels, including the following: State aid; the merger control regulation; justification for sector-specific regulation in EC competition law; network access; authorizations and privileges; and mobile telephony. Relevant EC media and communications law and relevant aspects of EC competition law are dealt with in detail. While some chapters focus on competition law, others deal primarily with sector-specific regulation. There is practical guidance throughout on procedural matters, alongside analysis of the substantive provisions. Well-known in its first edition, this thoroughly revised and updated version continue to be vital reading for practitioners, in particular those specializing in European competition law and for company and in-house lawyers who are seeking advice on how European law affects their business. As a detailed analysis of the basic legislative and regulatory framework of European telecommunications law, it will be an invaluable reference work for lawyers, judges, regulators, and policymakers in all the EC Member States, as well as for students and teachers of European law.

The authors analyze regulatory reform and the emergence of competitionin network industries using the state-of-the-art theoretical tools ofindustrial organization, political economy, and the economics ofincentives.

Margin squeeze is a form of abuse of a dominant position in which a vertically integrated company reduces the margin between the price charged to competitors and the price charged to consumers, which can have the effect of excluding a competitor from the market. In the decade or so since the liberalisation of network industries, margin squeeze has become a major source of concern among competition authorities and courts, particularly pronounced in the electronic communications sector. Because some of the adopted decisions show significant inconsistencies in approach, and legal certainty remains elusive in this area, this book which provides an extremely thorough analysis is both timely and of great practical value. The author provides an in-depth examination of margin squeeze allegations in the electronic communications sector with a view to developing a more advanced and comprehensive analysis of principles which should guide ex post assessment of margin squeeze. Issues and topics covered include: – scope of intervention in margin squeeze cases both for national regulatory and national competition authorities; – conditions for sanctioning margin squeeze under Article 102; – methodological and practical difficulties in identifying a margin squeeze; – methodology employed in margin squeeze cases and its regulatory aspects; – assessment of the ability and incentives of regulated firms to engage in a margin squeeze; and – situations when competition law is used to address the deficits of regulation and regulatory failures. It also includes a critical comparison of the vertical foreclosure analysis undertaken in margin squeeze cases with the approach adopted in the EU Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines. Throughout the analysis, margin squeeze treatment in the European Union and its Member States is examined in light of the diverging approach adopted by the US Supreme Court. The increasing complexity of the electronic communications market can only further confound an already complex assessment of price squeezes, and one can expect that claims of anticompetitive margin squeeze in liberalised network industries will continue to be high on the enforcement agenda of competition authorities for years to come. In light of the need for a coherent, or at least predictable, sentencing policy to provide relative legal certainty, the research in this book proves invaluable. The analysis and conclusions discussed in this book will be welcomed by policymakers, regulators, and lawyers working in the areas of competition law and electronic communications law.

2009 Release: "International Telecommunications Law [2009] - I", a four-volume set with more than 2,500 pages, offers specialists from North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East who examine their respective telecommunications legal and regulatory regimes. Purchase Volumes II, III, and IV to complete the set. The publication is replaced by updated volumes annually. A 25% discount applies to a subscription for three years of updates. Discounts are applied after purchase by rebate from publisher.