PhD student: Mr P. Larouche

Promotors: Prof B. de Witte, Prof W.M.M.L. van Gerven

PhD defence: Maastricht, 23/3/2000

Abstract:

On the basis of practical examples, the research examines how EC telecommunications law could volve, following the achievement of liberalization, the main policy goal of the 1990s. After reviewing the development of regulation in the run-up to liberalization, the author identifies the methods used to direct the liberalization process and tests their validity in the post-liberalization context. A critical analysis is made of the claim that competition law will offer sufficient means to regulate the sector in the future. Particular emphasis is given to the way in which EC competition law changed in the 1990s using the essential facilities doctrine, an expansive non-discrimination principle and the policing of cross-subsidization to tackle what were then thought of as regulatory matters. The research also deals with the procedural and institutional interplay between competition law and telecommunications regulation. In conclusion, it explores the limits of competition law and puts forward a long-term case for sector-specific regulation, with a precise mandate to ensure that the telecommunications sector as a whole fulfils its role as a foundation for economic and social activity.