SUPPORTING COMPETITION ON THE CELLULAR TELECOMMUNICATIONS MARKET

The development of wireless technology has stimulated the dissemination of mobile telecommunications. The growth of this market has resulted from a rapid development of cellular telecommunications services over the past decade - thanks to their natural values such as the possibility of using these services regardless of the user's whereabouts. However, the Polish mobile telecommunications market is still characterized by a low penetration rate - expressed by a relatively small number of telephones per 100 residents - accompanied by relatively high, though declining, prices. At the same time, the mobile telecommunications market is growing at a relatively fast rate compared with traditional fixed-line telecommunications. In the future, this may solve the problem of access to telecommunications services in poorly urbanized areas. Notably, the mobile telecommunications market is a typically oligopolistic market with a natural tendency whereby operators make various formal and informal agreements with one another. They do not yet feel threatened by the competition. This is due to market entry barriers such as the limited availability of frequencies necessary for the performance of mobile telecommunications services and additional financial barriers related to costs. Overcoming these obstacles requires a comprehensive competition promotion policy based on creating conditions for a potential entry of new entities onto the market. These regulations require free frequencies for new investors, accompanied by the introduction of an effective policy for promoting competition in telecommunications services through the creation of conditions for providing services by operators without networks. At the same time, active regulation is necessary on the market to effectively counteract abusive practices and anti-competition agreements made by operators on the market.