Telecommunications Regulation

This book examines the background to regulation and the work of the regulator. It discusses typical regulatory rules and the legal and administrative framework for regulation, and looks at regulatory strategies, market structures and approaches to price control. The book includes a number of case studies which show how regulators engage with such topical issues as interconnection and loop unbundling, and also features technical coverage of both numbering and number portability. Finally, it looks at new products and services such as virtual network operators, intelligent networks, radio spectrum and next generation networks, and considers the impact these might have on the future of regulation. Publication of this book is very timely since it includes coverage of the four new European Directives on Telecommunications Regulation (the Framework Directive, the Access and Interconnection Directive, the Authorisation Directive and the Universal Service Directive) due to come into force on 23 July 2003. A comprehensive, in-depth guide to the subject, this book will be a valuable resource for engineers and managers in the industry, as well as lawyers and economists needing an insight into current telecommunications regulation.