Telecommunications is one of the most dynamic industries in the modern world, with new products and technologies appearing almost every week. As in many other industries, the last twenty years have brought extensive and far reaching liberalisation, with more and more countries opening their markets. In the last decade all but five Member States of the European Union have legislated for full opening of all market segments. The remaining five look set for further liberalisation over the next five years. This book examines the process and consequences of telecommunications liberalisation in the context of ever closer European Union. The creation of a single market for telecommunications and of a wider European single market mirror one another. Telecommunications are also something of a test case for the privatisation process, as this sector has traditionally been a state monopoly.
The volume approaches the European experience from three angles: * the politics of regulation and the process of liberalization in the EU (including case Studies of the UK, France, and Germany) * increasing global economic interdependence makes international comparisons essential, and the volume compares the EU experience with that of the Czech Republic, Israel and Thailand * the consequences of technology and continuous innovation The book includes contributions from scholars in ten countries. Patrizia Cincera, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; Kjell A. Eliassen, Norwegian School of Management, Norway and Universite Libre Bruxelles, Belgium; Christer Englund, Mira