Infrastructure-Based Versus Service-Based : Competition In Telecommunications

Unbundling of the Local Loop (ULL) has seen quite different "Success stories" in the various countries across Europe. Although the obligation for the provision of ULL was implemented in the regulatory framework early and mostly parallel to other means of liberalisation, national implementation has been rather heterogeneous. One question of decisive importance for National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs) was whether to foster service-based competition in the first phase of liberalisation or to focus on infrastructure-based competition. The different NRAs chose to head down different roads. This paper analyses whether the strategy of NRAs has had any mid-term effect on the economic welfare created in the communications markets.