Die Liberalisierung des deutschen Telekommunikationsmarktes: Zukünftige Regulierungserfordernisse im Lichte bisheriger Erfahrungen

This economic policy forum focuses on the liberalisation of the German telecommunication market. In view of former experiences future regulation requirements are discussed. Günter Knieps stresses that the problem of market power is central for answering the question of future division of labour between sector-specific regulations and the application of the competition law. Net-specific market power is only expected in monopolistic bottlenecks characterised by irreversible costs so that sector-specific regulations should be exclusively restricted to these monopolistic bottlenecks. Knieps aims at establishing service as well as infrastructural competition in competitive telecommunication markets. He argues that the telecommunication markets should not be distorted by regulations. Another aspect of Knieps’ article is the question how the mobile telecommunication market should be regulated. He examines whether the mobile telecommunication markets are characterised by monopolistic bottlenecks. However, Knieps does not find evidence for the existence of the latter. Finally, the author concludes that slimy regulations of net-specific market power is necessary to use all advantages provided by liberalised telecommunication markets. Therefore, the concept of “essential facility” should be employed. Ingo Vogelsang emphasises that the telecommunication sector is characterised by a great volume of investment. Rapid technical progress and fast changing markets can lead to uncertainty which makes investment insecure. On the one hand, Vogelsang points out that regulations can reduce the investors’ uncertainty. On the other hand, he reminds the reader that regulations can raise risk of investments. The main aspect in this context is the increasing uncertainty in law. Therefore, the author proposes regulative decisions that are predictable in the long run. Yet, long-term plans specifying definite time plans for regulations would not be successful. In contrast, the author suggests time independent development steps. For this reason, Vogelsang introduces a “Four Step Plan of Regulation” discussed in this article. Eberhard Witte remarks that the current regulations in the German telecommunication market result from several reform steps. He points out that the reforms in other countries, as e.g. in the United States or the United Kingdom have advancedthe liberalisation in Germany. Hence he describes the process of the German telecommunication market liberalisation with regard to the speed and the sequence of political actions. According to Witte’s opinion, the necessary rearrangements of the German telecommunication market are not yet finished. The author emphasises that one problem remains: Should new competitors be allowed to use the old infrastructure or should they be required to implement their own? Finally, he tries to answer this question for Germany and draws comparison to the experience of other countries.