Liberalizing Telecommunications and the Role of the World Trade Organization
In February 1997, sixty-nine governments of high-income and developing countries agreed to liberalize their basic telecommunications services under an agreement negotiated through the World Trade Organization. Most participants in the agreement hav...
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| Format: | Viewpoint |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/1997/07/441663/liberalizing-telecommunications-role-world-trade-organization http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11578 |
| Summary: | In February 1997, sixty-nine governments
of high-income and developing countries agreed to liberalize
their basic telecommunications services under an agreement
negotiated through the World Trade Organization. Most
participants in the agreement have subscribed to
procompetitive regulatory principles, including independent
regulators, competitive safeguards, measures to ensure
interconnection, universal service obligations, and
transparent and nondiscriminatory practices in licensing.
The markets affected by the arrangement represent more than
90 percent of the world market for telecommunications. The
author reviews the evolution of the agreement and argues
that the critical issues now are ensuring the quality of
implementation and setting up a procompetitive regulatory environment. |
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