This paper gives an account of events, and explains some systematic reasons of the UMTS auction flop in Switzerland. Apart from general market developments, which could not have been anticipated, we argue that auctiondesign which was introduced in England and adopted in Switzerland and elsewhere...

The second-generation GSM spectrum auction in Germany is probably the most clear cut example of a low price outcome in a simultaneous ascending-bid auction.The present paper gives an account of the events, describes the auction rules and market conditions, and provides a theoretical explanation...

In this paper I review the Dutch UMTS-auction that took place in the summer of 2000 and which, in contrast to the UK and German auctions, was generally considered to be a major flop. I analyse the policy process leading to the auction as well as the bidding behaviour in the auction, and provide...

An unprecedented “boom and bust” investment cycle occurred in the high-tech industries at the turn of the century, in particular in the telecommunications sector. Regulatory reforms and technological innovation fuelled expectations of robust growth in traffic, revenue and earnings....

In order to encourage investment in telecommunication networks, governments have been encouraged to adopt a regulatory state model, with an independent regulatory authority that is subject to a system of appeals and to parliamentary oversight, providing different forms of accountability. The...

In February 1998 the Dutch government auctioned licences to operate mobile telecommunications networks according to the DCS-1800 technology. Two "national" licences and sixteen "regional" ones were auctioned by using a variant of the simultaneous, multiple round auction that was proposed by...

Telecom spectrum is a scarce natural resource whose misallocation is likely to have adverse impact on an economy. It is therefore crucial for a country to ensure efficient allocation of telecom spectrum. Although there are different methods of allocating spectrum, auction as a method of spectrum...

In a referendum on 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom (UK) voted for ‘Brexit’, i.e., to leave the European Union (EU). After some delay the government will invoke Article 50 TEU, which would begin a two-year period of negotiation for a withdrawal agreement, after which the EU treaties would...

Mobile telecommunications has been a considerable success with consumers, yet markets are oligopolies designed by governments and by industry, with many flaws, including limited ability to regulate prices, quality of service and coverage. Markets have been partially opened to competition, with...

State owned corporations have been serial offenders of competition law. Of the 21 abuse ofdominance complaints referred to the Tribunal between October 1999 and September 2016,13 involved former or current SOCs. SOCs often hold monopoly positions and control essentialinfrastructure and the...