Regulatory forbearance: why did Oftel find it so hard?

Jon Stern

Telecommunications Policy, vol. 28, issue 3-4, 273-294

Abstract: This paper considers the contrast between Oftel's statements on the importance of regulatory forbearance and withdrawal and its considerable difficulties in implementing them. The record of Oftel is contrasted with the regulatory withdrawal achieved by Ofgem in UK electricity and gas regulation and the paper discusses whether and how far structural unbundling might alleviate the need for conduct regulation in the telecom industries. The Oftel experience suggests the need for a clear strategy, including structural options, to implement regulatory withdrawal with some mechanism in place that forces regulators to review regularly and systematically whether or not continued conduct regulation is necessary. Such a mechanism has been proposed for Ofcom in the UK Communications Act 2003.

Keywords: Oftel; Ofcom; Regulation; Forbearance; Communications (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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