Regulation of Competition in the Telecommunications Sector: A Comparative Study of the Korean and Nigerian Legal Regimes

The liberalisation of telecommunications sectors in many countries has brought with it the need to regulate and develop regulatory models for competition. South Korea and Nigeria followed the liberalisation trend of the telecommunications markets in late 1980s and 1990s. Both countries have also established competition laws and adopt various regulatory models. This paper, through a comparative analysis, examines how both countries regulate competition in their telecommunications markets. It argues that their regulatory models have merits and demerits which may affect efficient regulation of competition in the industry. It concludes that notwithstanding the pros and cons of their regulatory models, the regulatory choices are tailored to meet the peculiarities of their markets and reflect the environment in which they are used. Also, the Nigerian model reflects its slow level of telecommunication development and the more sophisticated the industry becomes, it becomes imperative for its regulatory regime to become sector-specific.

Analysis of Consumer Trends in the Telecommunications Markets of Russia and Vietnam

By way of descriptive and comparative analysis, the subscriber bases and revenues of television, fixed and mobile telephony, and fixed and mobile broadband segments of the Russian and Vietnamese telecommunications markets for the period of 2015-2019 were analysed. The results of the study revealed similar global trends in the telecommunications markets of Russia and Vietnam. Fixed and mobile telephony revenues are declining, since customers prefer new communication technologies to the old ones. The television subscriber base is growing in both countries; TV revenues are increasing in the Russian market and somewhat declining in the Vietnamese telecommunications market. With further penetration of broadband, more customers are upgrading their television from Free TV to Pay TV (IPTV and OTT services). The results of the study confirmed the global consumer trends in telecommunications markets and the applicability of approaches used herein for other countries.

Bundling and Consumer Churn in Telecommunications Markets

In this paper, we analyze how fixed-mobile (quadruple-play) bundling impacts the decision of consumers to churn telecommunications services. We use a database from an European operator of fixed and mobile telecommunications services which includes information about 9.6 million fixed broadband subscribers and 14.2 million mobile subscribers between March 2014 and February 2015. These data is combined with socio-demographic characteristics from each municipality in this country. We find that consumers who bundle fixed and mobile services from the same provider are less likely to churn. Without fixed-mobile bundling the annual churn of fixed broadband consumers would increase from 8.4 to 9.2%. Furthermore, the consumer churn in the mobile market would increase from 11.5 to 13.1%. We conclude that in the current competitive environment in the country considered, bundling has a moderate impact on consumer retention on both fixed and mobile networks.

Preis-Kosten-Scheren im Telekommunikationssektor

For competition in telecommunications markets, tests for price–cost squeezes have become increasingly important, as both price differentiation between end users and product bundling based on regulated and unregulated inputs are on the rise. This study first summarises the theory of predatory pricing and European and German case practice regarding price–cost squeezes. On this basis, it suggests ways to pragmatically adapt the existing test procedure in order to better identify price–cost squeezes in specific tariffs/rate bundles.