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The advent of 5G and the non-discrimination principle

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  • Rossi, Maria Alessandra

Abstract

5G promises to be a game changer for the extended connectivity-based value chain, encompassing a much broader set of digitalized industries than previous solutions. By reshaping competition among market players and among technologies, it changes the trade-offs underlying the application of the non-discrimination principle. In this paper, we provide a unified view of the implications of these technological developments for four instantiations of this principle that span the entire digital value chain: non-discrimination in FRAND licensing of standard-essential patents (SEPs), vertical separation remedies, network neutrality and technological neutrality. We conclude that overly rigid and non-technology neutral interpretations of the non-discrimination requirement would be at odds with technological evolution and would be incompatible with the objective to maximize the overall value of digital networks.

Suggested Citation

  • Rossi, Maria Alessandra, 2022. "The advent of 5G and the non-discrimination principle," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:46:y:2022:i:4:s030859612100183x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2021.102279
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    5G; Non-discrimination; FRAND; Technological neutrality; Network neutrality; Standard-Essential Patents; Wholesale-only model;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L51 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - Economics of Regulation
    • L96 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Telecommunications
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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