Liberalizing basic telecommunications: the Asian experience

Carsten Fink, Aaditya Mattoo and Randeep Rathindran

No 2718, Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank

Abstract: The authors examine the liberalization of the basic telecommunications sector in Asian countries with a view to identifying good policy and determining how multilateral negotiations can promote it. They find that most Asian governments, despite the move away from traditional public monopolies, are still unwilling to allow unrestricted entry, eliminate limits on private and foreign ownership, and establish strong, independent regulators. But where comprehensive reform has been undertaken-including privatization, competition, and regulation-the availability of main lines, the quality of service, and the productivity of labor are significantly higher. Somewhat surprisingly, little unilateral liberalization has occurred since the last round of telecommunications negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The new round therefore faces the challenge of not merely harvesting unilateral liberalization, as in the past, but of negotiating away existing restrictions. Since quantitative restrictions on the number of telecommunications service suppliers are pervasive, deepened GATS rules could help ensure transparent and nondiscriminatory allocation of licenses. There may also be a need to sharpen the regulatory principles established in the last round and to create rules that safeguard not only the rights of foreign suppliers but also those of consumers.

Keywords: Decentralization; ICT Policy and Strategies; Environmental Economics&Policies; Economic Theory&Research; International Terrorism&Counterterrorism; ICT Policy and Strategies; Economic Theory&Research; Environmental Economics&Policies; Knowledge Economy; Education for the Knowledge Economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001-11-30
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (33)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSC ... d/PDF/multi0page.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Liberalizing Basic Telecommunications: The Asian Experience (2002)
Working Paper: Liberalizing basic telecommunications: The Asian experience (2002)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:2718

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Policy Research Working Paper Series from The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20433. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Roula I. Yazigi ().