Telecommunications— the new European frontier

Abstract

In the context of deregulation in telecommunications, and at a time when American giants like IBM and AT&T are no longer prevented from competing on the European market, European countries must strengthen their level of cooperation in the telecommunications sector. In the current circumstances, only a regional realignment can enable the necessary investment to be made to acquire the industrial strength required in the face of competition. Such a realignment is also needed to provide European companies with a large enough internal European market, so that they can all acquire an international dimension to their operations. In the face of such challenges, will European telecommunications companies remain divided against each other, or will they come together in some form of cooperation? This article sketches out some possible scenarios and outlines strategies that could be adopted by European actors in the field of telecommunications.