Telecommunications Regulation in Europe

On January 1st, 1998, “full competition” in telecommunications will be implemented, according to the deadlines set by European Union (EU) Directives. In the last few years, all Member states have deeply reformed their regulatory frameworks for telecommunications, in order to adapt national regimes to the new market structure, in which several operators will interconnect their networks, and will have to share scarce resources, such as numbers and frequencies, and contribute to the provision and financing of universal service. A great effort has been made and a lot has been done, with results that are substantially consistent with the criteria and principles dictated by the European Union. Nevertheless, with the notable exception of Britain, four months away from the deadline, several key provisions regarding interconnection, access and universal service are still missing or incomplete in various countries, the institution of National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) has been substantially delayed, while the institution of a European Regulatory Authority (ERA) endowed with reasonable powers seems, on the whole, unlikely. The paper provides a detailed discussion of how major licensing, interconnection, access, numbering and universal service issues are being dealt with in Germany, France, Italy and Spain. It then discusses the emerging regulatory structures at the national level and considers the practical possibility of creating a European regulatory structure. It finally shows how such developments will entail somewhat peculiar entry patterns in European telecommunications, where major utilities from other sectors will play a greater role than elsewhere.