Regulation in the twenty-first century?

The system of telecommunications regulation established in 1984 was designed to deal with the provision of services over fixed networks with little or no competition in the market. Changes to the system since 1984 have been designed to enable the regime to accommodate changes in Government focus and the market environment. In recent years more fundamental changes have started to emerge which require a more radical reform of the present system. These include the emergence of mobile telephony as a direct competitor with fixed networks and the rise of the Internet.