Introduction

This book examines the process and consequences of telecommunications liberalisation in the context of an ever closer European Union. The creation of a single market for telecommunications and of a wider European single market mirror one another. Telecommunications are also something of a test case for the privatisation process, as this sector has traditionally been a state monopoly.

Volume Approach

The volume approaches the European experience from three angles:

• The politics of regulation and the process of liberalisation in the EU (including case studies of the UK, France, and Germany)
• Increasing global economic interdependence makes international comparisons essential, and the volume compares the EU experience with that of the Czech Republic, Israel and Thailand
• The consequences of technology and continuous innovation