The liberalization of the basic telecommunications sector in Asian countries is examined in this paper with a view to identify the elements of good policy and examine how it can be promoted through multilateral negotiations. We find that despite the move away from traditional public monopolies,...

Technical standards in telecommunications - the central focus of this paper - were traditionally developed by official government accredited or intergovernmental organizations. In the last two decades, however, private forums and consortia of standardization have evolved which initiated a shift...

Liberalization and regulatory reform of telecom markets has emerged as a high profile policy issue. This paper analyzes how the multilateral system under the World Trade Organization can help developing countries in promoting their own information infrastructures. We focus on a specific "regime"...

In wenigen Monaten wird in Katar die Ministerkonferenz der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) über die Abhaltung einer neuen Handelsrunde entscheiden. Auf Grund der gegenwärtigen Vorarbeiten werden zwei Themenkreise auf der Traktandenliste der Verhandlungen erwartet: erstens die weitere Umsetzung...

This paper analyses the role of the European Union in promoting liberalisation among its member states and in crafting the multilateral regime for telecommunications services. It begins by analysing the origins of the EU regime, describing its contours and assessing its implementation. It then...

This paper examines the substantial regulatory changes in North American telecommunications markets over the past decade. We argue that a combination of U.S. domestic politics and the logic of international strategic positioning produced substantial and far-reaching reform driven primarily by...

During the past two decades, international trade in telecommunication services has significantly intensified. What is more, an increasing number of telecommunications operators have begun to expand their activities beyond national borders through FDIs, joint ventures, and cooperation agreements....

In most countries, competition in the telecommunications industry is subject to both sector-specific regulation and more general antitrust policies. At the same time, a process of international market liberalisation is under way in telecommunications which can only be truly effective - and...

This paper looks at the role of the key international agreements in the process of liberalization of the telecommunications industry. We analyse in particular the role of the WTO agreement in furthering liberalization around the world, and the extent to which it provides protection for foreign...

This paper discusses the nature, importance, and measurement of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in services trade with particular reference to telecommunications services. It is shown that although more effectively addressed for the telecom sector at the multilateral level than for other service...