Publication:
The WTO Agreement and Telecommunications Policy Reform

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dc.contributor.authorCowhey, Peter
dc.contributor.authorKlimenko, Mikhail M.
dc.date.accessioned2014-08-26T14:48:04Z
dc.date.available2014-08-26T14:48:04Z
dc.date.issued2001-05
dc.description.abstractEvery country serious about introducing competition finds that the transition from monopoly to competition is both economically rewarding and laden with policy dilemmas. As a new century begins, we have an essentially new market for telecommunications. Digital technology forced a re-examination of the opportunity costs of protecting traditional telecommunications equipment and service suppliers. An inefficient market for telecommunications threatened competitiveness in the computer, software, and information industry markets. Meanwhile, after dislocations created by global stagflation through the early 1980s, developing countries became interested in privatization of state enterprises as a tool of economic reform--and state telephone companies were especially promising targets for privatization. Those countries began exploring options for allowing selective competition, as phone companies in major industrial countries began looking to foreign markets for new business opportunities. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services created a new regime for the world market. Now we must pay close attention to regulatory fundamentals: 1) Low barriers to entry in the market for communications services. 2) Effective re-balancing of rates for services during the market transition. 3) Effective Strong interconnection policies. 4) The creation of independent regulatory authorities with the resources and power necessary to foster competition and safeguard consumer welfare. The authors assess how developing and transition economies have fared in profiting from changes in the telecommunications market. They also examine the policy challenges that remain, paying special attention to the global market and regulatory milieu fostered by the 1997 WTO Agreement. They ask what this latest transformation has taught us about wise management of this vital part of the world economy's infrastructure. They focus on the economics of managing the transition to competition, the design of proper regulatory policies and processes, and the embedding of domestic telecommunications in the world market.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/05/1121208/wto-agreement-telecommunications-policy-reform
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/19661
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper;No. 2601
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectAGENTS
dc.subjectAGRICULTURE
dc.subjectARBITRAGE
dc.subjectBARRIERS TO ENTRY
dc.subjectBENCHMARKS
dc.subjectBUSINESS MODELS
dc.subjectBUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
dc.subjectCOMPETITIVENESS
dc.subjectCONSUMERS
dc.subjectDATA SERVICES
dc.subjectECONOMIC COOPERATION
dc.subjectECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectECONOMIC EFFECTS
dc.subjectECONOMIC EFFICIENCY
dc.subjectECONOMIC FEASIBILITY
dc.subjectECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subjectECONOMIC INFORMATION
dc.subjectECONOMIC POLICIES
dc.subjectECONOMIC THEORY
dc.subjectECONOMIES OF SCALE
dc.subjectELECTRONIC COMMERCE
dc.subjectEMPIRICAL STUDIES
dc.subjectEXTERNALITY
dc.subjectFORECASTS
dc.subjectFREE TRADE
dc.subjectGROWTH RATE
dc.subjectINEFFICIENCY
dc.subjectINFORMATION INDUSTRY
dc.subjectINFORMATION SERVICES
dc.subjectINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
dc.subjectINNOVATIONS
dc.subjectLICENSING
dc.subjectMACROECONOMIC POLICY
dc.subjectMACROECONOMIC REFORM
dc.subjectMARKET POWER
dc.subjectMONOPOLIES
dc.subjectMONOPOLY
dc.subjectNATURAL MONOPOLY
dc.subjectNETWORKING SERVICES
dc.subjectOPEN MARKETS
dc.subjectOPPORTUNITY COSTS
dc.subjectPHONE SERVICES
dc.subjectPRODUCERS
dc.subjectPROTOCOLS
dc.subjectREGULATORY PRINCIPLES
dc.subjectREGULATORY REFORM
dc.subjectREGULATORY SYSTEMS
dc.subjectROUTERS
dc.subjectSTAGFLATION
dc.subjectSTREAMS
dc.subjectSUNK COSTS
dc.subjectTECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE
dc.subjectTECHNOLOGICAL OPTIONS
dc.subjectTELECOM SERVICES
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATION
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATION POLICY
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS CARRIERS
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKETS
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS POLICY
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS REVOLUTION
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR
dc.subjectTELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
dc.subjectTELEDENSITY
dc.subjectTELEPHONE COMPANIES
dc.subjectTELEPHONE SERVICES
dc.subjectTRADE LIBERALIZATION
dc.subjectTRADE NEGOTIATIONS
dc.subjectTRADEOFFS
dc.subjectTRANSACTION COSTS
dc.subjectTRANSITION ECONOMIES
dc.subjectUNIVERSAL ACCESS
dc.subjectUNIVERSAL SERVICE
dc.subjectUNIVERSAL SERVICE OBLIGATIONS
dc.subjectUNIVERSAL SERVICE POLICIES
dc.subjectURUGUAY ROUND
dc.subjectVIDEO CONFERENCING
dc.subjectWELFARE GAINS
dc.subjectWORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
dc.titleThe WTO Agreement and Telecommunications Policy Reformen
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.date.disclosure2001-05-31
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/05/1121208/wto-agreement-telecommunications-policy-reform
okr.globalpracticeMacroeconomics and Fiscal Management
okr.globalpracticeEducation
okr.globalpracticeTransport and ICT
okr.globalpracticeFinance and Markets
okr.globalpracticeTrade and Competitiveness
okr.guid262151468180566781
okr.guid173381468767096580
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-2601
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum000094946_01051904375252
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum1121208
okr.identifier.reportWPS2601
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2001/06/01/000094946_01051904375252/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdfen
okr.sectorTelecommunications & Informatics
okr.sectorInformation and communications
okr.topicEconomic Theory and Research
okr.topicMacroeconomics and Economic Growth::Knowledge Economy
okr.topicEducation::Education for the Knowledge Economy
okr.topicInternational Economics and Trade::Trade Finance and Investment
okr.topicEnvironmental Economics and Policies
okr.topicInformation and Communication Technologies::ICT Policy and Strategies
okr.unitTrade, Development Research Group
okr.volume1
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
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