The WTO Agreement and Telecommunications Policy Reform

Cowhey, Peter ; Klimenko, Mikhail M.

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: AGENTS;    AGRICULTURE;    ARBITRAGE;    BARRIERS TO ENTRY;    BENCHMARKS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-2601
RP-ID  :  WPS2601

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Every country serious about introducingcompetition finds that the transition from monopoly tocompetition is both economically rewarding and laden withpolicy dilemmas. As a new century begins, we have anessentially new market for telecommunications. Digitaltechnology forced a re-examination of the opportunity costsof protecting traditional telecommunications equipment andservice suppliers. An inefficient market fortelecommunications threatened competitiveness in thecomputer, software, and information industry markets.Meanwhile, after dislocations created by global stagflationthrough the early 1980s, developing countries becameinterested in privatization of state enterprises as a toolof economic reform--and state telephone companies wereespecially promising targets for privatization. Thosecountries began exploring options for allowing selectivecompetition, as phone companies in major industrialcountries began looking to foreign markets for new businessopportunities. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreementon Basic Telecommunications Services created a new regimefor the world market. Now we must pay close attention toregulatory fundamentals: 1) Low barriers to entry in themarket for communications services. 2) Effectivere-balancing of rates for services during the markettransition. 3) Effective Strong interconnection policies. 4)The creation of independent regulatory authorities with theresources and power necessary to foster competition andsafeguard consumer welfare. The authors assess howdeveloping and transition economies have fared in profitingfrom changes in the telecommunications market. They alsoexamine the policy challenges that remain, paying specialattention to the global market and regulatory milieufostered by the 1997 WTO Agreement. They ask what thislatest transformation has taught us about wise management ofthis vital part of the world economy's infrastructure.They focus on the economics of managing the transition tocompetition, the design of proper regulatory policies andprocesses, and the embedding of domestic telecommunicationsin the world market.