The Telecoms Trade War
The United States, the European Union and the World Trade Organisation
Published on 15. January 2001
Book
Hardback
512 pages
978-1-84113-014-9 (ISBN)
Description
If one were to believe the politicians and pundits in the trade press,the world is in midst of a "telecoms revolution," resulting from (the) deregulation and new competitive opportunities represented by the 1997 World Trade Organisation Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services. This may be true. Unfortunately, however, the actions of many regulators and industry participants more accurately reveal not a telecoms "revolution" but instead a growing telecoms trade war that is dangerously close to spiralling out of hand. In this book, Naftel and Spiwak review U.S. and European competition and regulatory initiatives post-WTO and provide both a useful roadmap to today's U.S., EU and WTO telecoms regulation and an examination of various case studies to illustrate their points. In so doing, the authors discover unfortunately the sad reality that, despite the political rhetoric, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have eschewed innovative and indeed productive solutions to create a market structure conducive to long-term competitive rivalry.
Instead, the authors demonstrate that current policies reveal a growing cynicism towards the maximisation of consumer welfare that will be difficult - if not outright impossible- to remove.
Instead, the authors demonstrate that current policies reveal a growing cynicism towards the maximisation of consumer welfare that will be difficult - if not outright impossible- to remove.
Reviews / Votes
...they convincingly show that the growing telecoms trade war is to be taken seriously. the book is to be recommended to everyone with an interest in the field. Wilfred A M Steenbruggen Digital Technology Law Journal March 2001 The Telecoms Trade War is a welcome addition to the telecom literature, if for no other reason than it challenges the conventional wisdom with evidence and analysis that go substantially deeper than the mantra recitations that have come to dominate both policy analysis and academic research on liberalization.This is the first detailed study in the modern era of telecom reform focusing on regulatory capture for the primary purpose of assisting dominant home operators in international and foreign markets. William H. Melody TelecomReform June 2002More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84113-014-9 (9781841130149)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Mark Naftel | Lawrence J. Spiwak
The Telecoms Trade War
The United States, the European Union and the World Trade Organisation
E-Book
01/2001
1st Edition
Hart Publishing
€200.99
Available for download
Persons
Mark Naftel is a telecommunications lawyer and Partner at Norton Rose Solicitors,London. He is also an Adjunct Fellow of the Phoenix Centre. Lawrence J Spiwak is the President of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal and Economic Public Policy Studies in Washington, DC. He is an internationally recognized authority on the legal and economic issues affecting telecommunications.
Content
Part 1 Analytical and legal framework: telecoms policy for the new millennium - introduction, why regulation and trade policy just don't mix, the growing regulatory cynicism has no place in policy-making, so where do we go from here?, case study - the United States International Telecoms policy; why restructure? - why restructure?, identify optional long-term market structure, policymakers must seek to promote entry aggressively, the economics of entry - "the entry condition", aggressively promoting entry is the sine qua non of the entire exercise, so why are so many regulators really against new entry?; analytical framework - a time to change perspective, basic economic characteristics of dynamic versus static markets, importance of a dynamic perspective, case study - dynamic change and the need for the 1996 US Telecoms Act, understanding the role of government, defining the rhetoric - what do we mean, how should we move forward; evaluating competition in a post-WTO world - structural market conditions in the post-WTO world - generic analytical framework, potential conduct in the post-WTO world, market performance in the post-WTO world; the WTO and the reference paper - an ostensible blueprint for entry - introduction, a brief history of the WTO Telecoms Treaty and the GATS, WTO disputes and resolution procedure, WTO resolution - illustrative cases, the WTO Telecoms Treaty, the future of the WTO Telecoms Treaty. Part 2 US efforts to promote telecoms competition: international competitive carrier, the FCC's first attempts to control foreign carriers, the FCC's foreign carrier or "ECO" order, questions of dominance and effective competitive opportunities, who needs market power to apply ECO? the AP and APC PSC ECO orders, settlement rate disputes - the Telintar Trade War, summary and analysis; US policies post-WTO part 1 - benchmarks and entry fees - exactly how open are the US markets post-WTO?, the FCC's "Foreign Participation Order" (WTO Implementation Proceeding), summary and analysis; US policies post-WTO part 2 - the naked politicisation of the American legal system - Cable & Wireless decision, how politics now trumps law, economics and facts, so what's really going on here?,; "do as I say, not as I do" - US efforts at promoting local telecoms competition, introduction, bundling, incumbent reconcentration, line sharing, vertical re-integration, conclusion. Part 3 European efforts to promote telecoms competition: EU foundations, institutions and policies - introduction, the birth of a new kind of nation, EU institutions, law and policy, EU competition policy and the concept of dominance, conclusion; Europe's first steps towards telecoms competition - introduction, international traffic exchanges and the British Telecom judgement, the European Commission's Telecommunications Green Paper, the equipment directive and member state challenge, the services directive, ONP directives, one last directive, conclusion. (Part Contents).