This international volume presents a comprehensive, comparative study of the transformation of the European telecommunications industry from 1990 to the present. The book focuses on the old incumbent operators and their dramatic change from state agencies to listed companies. It analyzes the liberalization process, as well as the corporatization and privatization of these companies.

This book combines a detailed, sector-specific study of comparative telecommunications regimes set in the context of the EC, with an extensive historical and empirical analysis of individual policy management and change as experienced by three diverse regulatory cultures, namely, Britain, the Netherlands and France. By adopting a comprehensive analytical framework based on far-reaching literature, the author explores a wide-range of theories, addressing key issues at the forefront of contemporary political and academic debate as: Do nation states matter in the globalizing telecommunications industry? Does the common challenge of techno-global telecommunications restructuring elicit different national responses? What is the significance of a single-speed or multi-speed Europe in implementing telecommunications governance regimes?

Judith Clifton, Francisco Comín and Daniel Díaz Fuentes in Privatisation in the European Union reject the two dominant explanations provided in literature, which include a simple 'Americanisation' of policy and a 'varied' privatisation experience without a common driving force. Using a systematic comparative analysis of privatisation experiences in each country from the 1980s to the beginning of the twenty first century, the authors show how the process of European integration and the need for internationally competitive industries have constituted key driving forces in the quest for privatisation across the EU. As privatisation slows down at the turn of the millennium, what future can citizens expect for public enterprises? Privatisation in the European Union is essential reading for researchers, students and policy-makers interested in privatisation, EU policy and the history of public enterprises.

The first of January 1998 was the deadline for market liberalisation within the European Union, which together with the passing of the USA Telecommunications Act, has served to open up major markets in the Telecommunications Industry. This book examines the changes that have been occuring in the industry in recent years, seeking to impose a coherent structure upon a rapidly changing environment. It includes case studies of the UK, Germany and the USA.

This international volume presents a comprehensive, comparative study of the transformation of the European telecommunications industry from 1990 to the present. The book focuses on the old incumbent operators and their dramatic change from state agencies to listed companies. It analyzes the liberalization process, as well as the corporatization and privatization of these companies. The contributors assess the conditions for the transformations taking place; the driving forces for change; the effects to management, the efforts of the EU during these processes, and ultimately, the role of the private owner. Political science publications have all but excluded analysis of the newly privatized companies; their contribution to the liberalization process both before and after privatization; and the interplay between the national political and company levels. The book redresses this shortcoming, and also features a double empirical focus in that the main national incumbents in Europe are analyzed and compared to Telenor, the Norwegian former incumbent.

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. 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

For many countries, recent reforms in telecommunications represent a restoration of the private provision and competition that prevailed in the early part of the 20th century. At that time, just as today, telephone service in countries with competing private providers was superior to service in countries with a state-owned monopoly.

Network industries such as electricity, gas, rail, local public transport, telecommunications and postal services are recognised by the EU as crucial for fostering European social and territorial cohesion. Providing an overview of key policy reforms in these industries and an empirical evaluation, this thought-provoking book offers a critical perspective on the functioning of the networks that provide vital services to EU citizens.