How can we encourage competition?

 

The liberalisation of the telecoms sector, which began at the end of the 1990s, has been a notable success. Citizens can now chose not only between various operators, but between various technologies whether fixed or mobile, to make calls, access the internet and watch TV. This is in sharp contrast to the days of the Telco monopolies, when service prices were high and devices available only from an incumbent telco outlet.

 

Today’s new market entrants have been supported by a regulatory environment which allows them to rent the ex-monopoly infrastructure in order to offer their own services to the customer. Other industry players, such as cable and mobile, have rolled out and upgraded a truly independent infrastructure. They invest in innovation and quality of service, thus stimulating other market players to react.

 

In such an open and highly competitive environment, future regulation could and should be limited to a de minimis approach.