The Universal Service Obligation for Telephone Directories: Regulating the Redundant

Abstract:     
In this article, we examine the universal service obligation for telephone directories. In most countries, this obligation consists of two parts. First, publishers must offer a comprehensive directory, including all telephone subscribers. Second, this directory should be available to all users. Building a simple theoretical model, inspired by the literature on two-sided markets, we find that one of these two obligations is redundant. Imposing availability to all users is sufficient to induce publishers to offer a comprehensive directory. The reverse however does not hold.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 22

Keywords: advertising, telephone directories, two-sided markets, universal service obligation

JEL Classification: K23, L12, L86

working papers series