Liberalizing the intra-EC long-distance market: Promotion competition in basic telephone services

Abstract

The road towards competition in telecommunications services has been quite different in the USA and the European Community. The former has pursued a policy of network fragmentation and network competition. In contrast, the European Commission fosters network integration, and accordingly competition is limited to certain services. This article argues that both strategies can be reconciled in Europe. Since complete liberalization of the telecommunications market is not feasible it is argued that competition in the intra-Community long-distance market could be pursued as a second-best strategy.