The Regulation of Telecommunications Industries in Small Economies
Is regulation designed to address communications markets in the EU and the USA necessarily appropriate to small economies or does regulation, where it is necessary, need to be adapted to meet the special characteristics of smallness?
At the same time that the telecoms sector is facing a fundamental restructuring caused by the adoption of all-IP networks, some small economies, which may have had a high level of protection in the past, are moving towards an open market-economy and are joining international institutions such as the European Union (e.g. Malta).
Many small economies have tended to “import” regulatory and competition policy from larger countries, such as the EU and USA. But these policies have not been designed for the special characteristics of small economies and so may not be appropriate.
This paper explores the need for regulatory proportionality for the telecommunications sector in small economies. The core question we address is:
"Is regulation designed to address communications markets in the EU and the USA necessarily appropriate to small economies or does regulation, where it is necessary, need to be adapted to meet the special characteristics of smallness?"
(Please note: this paper has been designed for double sided printing.)
