In practice, many markets do not exhibit all the conditions necessary for workable or effective competition. Market failures occur in many forms. The two most associated with the need for regulation are:
- Monopoly, including natural monopoly, and
- Externalities
Where a market is not effectively competitive, this raises the question: is the problem likely to correct itself? If not, then there may be a need for additional tools to encourage effective competition or to prevent socially unacceptable outcomes.
This section of the toolkit introduces two broad approaches to encouraging competition in the ICT sector — competition policy and regulation. Competition policy and regulation are not mutually exclusive. Many countries use a mix of both. However, care is required to ensure that sector regulation and anti-trust laws are developed and applied consistently.
This section discusses the following topics:
RELATED INFORMATION
Why Focus on Competition?
Asymmetric Interconnection Regulation
Training on Competition Policy and Interconnection in Telecommunications Market of Mongolia, 4-7 July 2003 - Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (contains numerous presentations, reference documents, and summary reports)