EU competition policy and market power control in the mediamatics era

Abstract

This paper addresses the controversial subject of convergence in the communications sector and analyzes its regulatory implications for European competition policy with special emphasis on market power control. We start with a brief description of the changed societal communications system of the information society, called mediamatics (media and telematics). We will then turn to the analysis of competition policy and market power issues, applying an integrated mediamatics approach. First, we highlight some major characteristics of the European competition policy framework. Subsequently, our analysis concentrates on the challenges posed by convergence and we offer some conclusions regarding the reform of these policy fields.