Global Telecommunications Market Access offers you a solid understanding of the regulatory, economic, business, public policy and other considerations associated with entry into global telecommunications markets from a commercial, governmental and legal perspective. The primary focus of this book is on the global telecommunications regulatory environment and how it impacts market access strategies and implementation of these strategies. You are presented with case studies and a global view of the progression of telecommunications to help you better see how global markets are evolving from being dominated by monopoly service providers to one where choice has become a reality for consumers.

This major reference work provides a thorough and up-to-date survey and analysis of recent developments in the economics of telecommunications. The Handbooks serve both as a source of reference and technical supplement for the field of telecommunications economics. Volume III examines the structure within which modern communications companies operate and evolve, and how corporations must account for multiple objectives associated with both national economic and social policy. The volume draws useful lessons from the recent corporate experience of major international telecommunications companies. The contributors explore the interaction of diversity in national approaches with the ongoing need for international cooperation and coordination, which continues to be an important area of debate. The Handbooks are written at a level intended for professional use by economists, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and will also prove useful to policy analysts, engineers and managers within the industry.

Global Telecommunications Market Access offers you a solid understanding of the regulatory, economic, business, public policy and other considerations associated with entry into global telecommunications markets from a commercial, governmental and legal perspective. The primary focus of this book is on the global telecommunications regulatory environment and how it impacts market access strategies and implementation of these strategies. You are presented with case studies and a global view of the progression of telecommunications to help you better see how global markets are evolving from being dominated by monopoly service providers to one where choice has become a reality for consumers.

Telecommunication markets are characterized by a dynamic development of technology and market structures. The specific features of network-based markets, convergence of previously separate spheres and the complex task of market regulation put traditional theoretical approaches as well as current regulatory policies to the test. This book sheds light on some of the challenges ahead. It covers a vast range of subjects from the intricacies of market regulation to new markets for mobile and internet-related services. The diffusion of broadband technology and the emergence of new business strategies that respond to the technological and regulatory challenges are treated in the book’s 24 chapters.

In recent years, liberalization, privatization and deregulation have become commonplace in sectors once dominated by government-owned monopolies. In telecommunications, for example, during the 1990s, more than 129 countries established independent regulatory agencies and more than 100 countries privatized the state-owned telecom operator. Why did so many countries liberalize in such a short period of time? For example, why did both Denmark and Burundi, nations different along so many relevant dimensions, liberalize their telecom sectors around the same time? Kirsten L. Rodine-Hardy argues that international organizations – not national governments or market forces – are the primary drivers of policy convergence in the important arena of telecommunications regulation: they create and shape preferences for reform and provide forums for expert discussions and the emergence of policy standards. Yet she also shows that international convergence leaves room for substantial variation among countries, using both econometric analysis and controlled case comparisons of eight European countries.

The mobile telecommunication industry has been one of the fastest growing industries in the global economy since the late 1990s. As the first country to offer commercial Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) cellular service in the world, Korea was able to jump right into the digital mobile markets, enhancing its status as a leading manufacturer of mobile equipment. While the growth of the telecom industry occurred with the emergence of worldwide market-oriented regulatory reform and liberalization in telecommunications, the state-market relationship in Korea evolved from state monopoly toward “centralized governance” and later toward “flexible governance,” which is substantially different from “liberal governance” of the US. This book examines the uniqueness of Korean regulatory reforms of the mobile telecommunication sector, and argues that the market-oriented regulatory reform and liberalization should be explained by focusing on the interactions among the state, the private sector, and international political economic environment. It will appeal to scholars and policy-makers alike concerned with market regulation, Asian development and political economy.

This book provides a critical comprehensive summary of the coevolution of telecom markets, rules and public institutions over the last 25 years, focusing on the challenges that regulators and policy makers have been facing. Even if the perspective of the book is European (as the EU regulatory framework is examined), most of the economic and institutional issues addressed are common to all telecom markets in advanced economies. The book addresses some traditional fundamental topics in the telecom regulation literature, as well as some hot-button topics in the current policy debate, e.g., ultrafast broadband and 5G networks, the relationship between investments and competition, the sector digitalisation and the role of OTTs. All these are relevant to students, researchers, and policy makers interested to get a sound understanding of the sector, its many dimensions and coevolutionary patterns.