STRATEGIC ISSUES IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS - UNBUNDLING THE INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE

This paper illustrates the need for a continuing and more focused role for regulation in the face of competitive entry in communications infrastructure supply. It reviews the trends in the marketplace and points to the critical sites where long-term industry outcomes are being negotiated, including the terms and conditions of network interconnection, the degree to which network operators are obliged to unbundle network functionality, and the political and economic choices as to who bears the costs of the underlying information and communications infrastructure.