Telecommunications reform and the internal market in Europe

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to make an assessment of the progress towards a fully fledged internal market for e‐communications in the European Union. The assessment is placed in the context of a quarter century of telecommunications reform in Europe.

Design/methodology/approach

A combination of qualitative and quantitative assessments is applied with a focus on fixed and mobile communications. The qualitative assessment includes interviews and a questionnaire. The quantitative assessment is based on econometric analysis of panel data.

Findings

Removing the remaining barriers in the internal market may in the long run provide benefits of €27‐55bn or the equivalent of 0.2‐0.4 percent of GDP at the European level. Major barriers identified are related to the degree of openness of national markets and the ability of telecom firms to exploit EU‐level economies of scale.

Research limitations/implications

In the econometric benefit analysis no secondary effects are included. Further research is recommended to assess the effects, costs and benefits of enforcing a higher degree of harmonisation.

Practical implications

The paper provides insights and recommendations that are valuable for policy makers.

Originality/value

The paper places the research executed in support of a study for the European Commission in the historical context of the telecommunications reform.

Citation

Lemstra, W. and van Gorp, N. (2013), "Telecommunications reform and the internal market in Europe", info, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 73-90. https://doi.org/10.1108/14636691311305434