EC competition and telecommunications law

Book abstract:

This book provides an examination of both old and new regulations in EC (European Community) law, which is always an innovative and dynamic area. The structure now governing these laws since 2002 discloses an intricate counterpoint between sector-specific and general competition law, and the book sets out to address this situation in all its complexity.

Over fifteen chapters, the work contains a vast amount of material on a number of subjects and issues. After chapter one, which begins with clarifying the discrepancy over the roles undertaken in EC law between the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), before moving on to the basic GATS agreements (General Agreement on Trade in Service) and a historical overview, chapter two considers the actual emergence of EC telecommunications law. Chapter three looks at the so-called 'liberalisation' of European Telecommunications and Broadcasting markets, in terms of the transition from monopolies to competition; chapter four address the question of access to telecommunications infrastructures and intellectual property rights under Article 82 EC, and chapter five deals with state aid. In chapter six, there is work on the implementation of both the EC Merger Control Regulation and Regulation 17; chapter seven is on the framework directive, and chapter eight turns to the question of a framework for network access and interconnection. Chapter nine explores the issue of authorisations, in respect of matters like individual licences, fees, charges, and harmonisation; chapter ten interrogates data protection and privacy; chapter eleven assesses Europe's regulatory framework of scarce and finite resources; chapter twelve negotiates the role of standardisation in the telecommunications sector; chapter thirteen deals with mobile telephony, and chapter fourteen examines satellite communications. Lastly, chapter fifteen explores cable television networks.

The book is aimed at practitioners, academics, judges, regulators and policy-makers working within this field of EC law.