Competition and Regulation Issues in Telecommunications

Abstract:     
This document (of 416 pages) comprises the proceedings of an OECD roundtable on competition issues in the telecommunications industry, which was held in May 2001.

This document discusses issues such as the regulation of mobile termination rates, whether to impose mandatory roaming, competition effects of "flat rate" calling packages, differential charging for on - and off - net calls and mergers in the telecommunications industry. A common theme behind many of these issues is a mis-match between the structure of access charges and retail charges. When access charges are less differentiated that retail charges, competition from rivals will be distorted (and perhaps highly restricted) and retail tariff structures will come under pressure.

This document consists of a background paper by the Secretariat, submissions from 19 OECD countries and a summary of the oral discussion.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 416

Keywords: Mobile termination, mandatory roaming, flat-rate pricing

JEL Classification: L40, L96

working papers series