The WTO Agreements on Telecommunications
The WTO Agreements on Telecommunications

Author: Bobjoseph Mathew

Publisher: Peter Lang Publishing

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13:

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Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt/M., New York, Oxford, Wien. Under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Telecommunications Services, 72 member states have made commitments with regard to the increasing international competition in the telecommunications sector. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the regulatory framework at a multilateral level. It deals with the growing importance and the technological evolution of the telecommunications sector. Furthermore, it describes the negotiations on telecommunications at WTO level. The book gives insights into the provisions of the Annex on Telecommunications and describes their impact on the services industry. Moreover, the commitments relating to basic telecommunications are analyzed. The author specifically examines the reference paper which sets out rules for competition in the telecommunications sector and interprets these provisions in the light of the existing multilateral rules. Contents: WTO/ITU - Annex on Telecommunications - Schedule of Commitments on Basic Telecommunications - Reference Paper - Competition Law - Telecommunications Law.

The Telecoms Trade War
The Telecoms Trade War

Author: Mark Naftel

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2001-01-15

Total Pages: 526

ISBN-13: 1847312268

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If one were to believe the politicians and pundits in the trade press,the world is in midst of a “telecoms revolution,” resulting from (the) deregulation and new competitive opportunities represented by the 1997 World Trade Organisation Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services. This may be true. Unfortunately, however, the actions of many regulators and industry participants more accurately reveal not a telecoms “revolution” but instead a growing telecoms trade war that is dangerously close to spiralling out of hand. In this book, Naftel and Spiwak review U.S. and European competition and regulatory initiatives post-WTO and provide both a useful roadmap to today's U.S., EU and WTO telecoms regulation and an examination of various case studies to illustrate their points. In so doing, the authors discover unfortunately the sad reality that, despite the political rhetoric, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have eschewed innovative and indeed productive solutions to create a market structure conducive to long-term competitive rivalry. Instead, the authors demonstrate that current policies reveal a growing cynicism towards the maximisation of consumer welfare that will be difficult - if not outright impossible- to remove.

The WTO Telecom Agreement
The WTO Telecom Agreement

Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Commerce. Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 76

ISBN-13:

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Foreign Investment in American Telecommunications
Foreign Investment in American Telecommunications

Author: J. Gregory Sidak

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2008-04-15

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 0226756289

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Restrictions on foreign investment in U.S. telecommunications firms have harmed the interests of American consumers and investors, argues J. Gregory Sidak in this convincing study. Sidak shows why these restrictions, originally intended to protect America from the perils of wireless telegraphy by foreign agents, should be repealed. Basing his analysis on legislative history, statutory and constitutional interpretation, and finance and trade theory, Sidak shows that these restrictions no longer serve their national security purpose (if they ever did). Instead they deny American consumers lower prices and more robust innovation, hamper access of American investors to foreign telecommunications markets, and unconstitutionally impinge on freedom of speech. Sidak's study encompasses the Telecommunications Act of 1996, recent global mergers such as British Telecom-MCI, and the 1997 World Trade Organization agreement to liberalize trade in telecommunications services.

Telecommunications and the World Trade Organization
Telecommunications and the World Trade Organization

Author: Bjorn Wellenius

Publisher:

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13:

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The U.S.-Mexico case (2002-04) was the first (and so far only) case of World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute resolution on telecommunications services and the first on services only. The findings of the Panel charged with settling the dispute contain interpretations of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), especially its Annex on Telecommunications and the Reference Paper that sets regulatory principles. Although these interpretations strictly apply only to the case examined, they have implications for other countries and sectors and beyond trade law. The following are some of the findings. Telecommunications services originated in one country and terminated in another country are cross-border services under the GATS irrespective of whether the same service provider is present in both countries. The accounting rate regime, whereby operators share revenue from international services provided jointly, is subject to the discipline of cost-based interconnection for countries that have adopted the Reference Paper. Uniform settlement rates and proportional return are anticompetitive practices under the Reference Paper even when they are mandated by law. The lack of implementing regulations does not excuse the country from meeting its commitments under the GATS. Mexico and the United States, although not in full agreement with the Panel, did not appeal. An agreed plan to address the underlying legal and regulatory issues was successfully implemented in July 2005

Telecommunications Regulatory Reform in Small Island Developing States
Telecommunications Regulatory Reform in Small Island Developing States

Author: Siope Vakataki ‘Ofa

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2011-11-15

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 144383548X

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This book adopts an approach of ‘mixed-method research’ with an in-depth qualitative comparative case study analysis triangulated by a quantitative statistical analysis. In particular, the book attempts to capture Small Island Developing States control variables in its empirical analysis, often omitted from telecommunications empirical studies due to limited data. Based on the smallest and most isolated small island states in the World, the research’s comparative case study analysis was conducted in five Pacific Island States (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu). The book documents the early account of domestic telecommunications policies in Pacific Island case studies deemed useful for future research. In addition, the book proposes concrete policy insights to Small Island Developing State governments, telecommunications operators, academics and relevant international institutions. The book attempts to link three different strands of academic literatures – namely ‘islandness’, ‘telecommunications policy reform’ and ‘international trade agreements (WTO)’ – through analyzing the political economy of telecommunications reform in an island economy context and the role of the fixed-rules of the World Trade Organization on the credibility of telecommunications reform.

Telecommunications Reform Within Russia's Accession to the World Trade Organization
Telecommunications Reform Within Russia's Accession to the World Trade Organization

Author: Jesper Jensen

Publisher: World Bank Publications

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13:

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The results show that reduction of barriers to foreign direct investment in telecommunications will bring substantial gains to the Russian economy, including an increase in the productivity of Russian labor and capital. Despite the fact that multinationals use Russian labor less intensively than Russian firms, demand for Russian labor employed in telecommunications should increase, following reductions in barriers to foreign direct investment that are included in the context of WTO accession. This is because the overall demand for telecommunication services should increase due to the growth effects of the liberalization of barriers against foreign direct investment generally and the reduction in tariffs. Russian capital owners in telecommunications will likely be sought as joint venture partners and can restructure and obtain gains as partners with foreign firms. Wholly owned Russian firms are likely to experience losses"--Abstract.