Telecoms industry is a highly specialised industry and there is a general consensus that it requires a specially designed regulatory system. Besides the many technology-oriented regulations, this regulatory system not only integrates many economic theories and concepts taken from competition law, but also features several measures designed ad hoc to deal with the character of the industry, such as a natural monopoly, bottlenecks and a public service. A major category of these regulatory measures is forced access mechanisms. "Forced access" in this thesis refers to the forcing open of certain property – mostly telecoms networks and relevant facilities – to be accessed by others, especially other competitors in the market. While these mechanisms do indeed promote competition in the telecoms market and benefit the public, they also limit the fundamental rights of telecoms companies – mostly incumbents – as legal persons, especially concerning their property rights and freedom to conduct a business, and it does not need emphasising further that the protection of fundamental rights is a general principle in the European Union and a constitutional value in modern democratic states. This thesis aims to take three distinct telecoms forced access mechanisms (interconnection, local loop unbundling and separation), with different regulatory intensities, as examples to discuss the possible fundamental rights derogation issues of two targeted jurisdictions – the European Union and Taiwan. There are some substantial reasons for this comparative study. On the one hand, many of the regulatory concepts of the telecoms regulatory framework in the European Union, together with those in the United States, have been adopted by Taiwan; on the other hand, the protection of fundamental rights in the European Union is inspired by the constitutional traditions common to Member States, and the German Basic Law (Grundgesetz) plays an important role, while the Taiwanese Constitution and the constitutionality reviews system derive from Germany (continental law) and the United States (common law). The reasoning of Taiwanese constitutional review does not therefore just reflect the fundamental rights protection system but also introduces the constitutionality review system of the United States as a reference. This thesis starts with an introduction to telecoms forced access mechanisms in the European Union and Taiwan, with a special focus on three selected forced access mechanisms. Then, fundamental rights protection system under the two jurisdictions will be discussed, followed by an in-depth discussion of the concepts of property rights and freedom to conduct a business. This thesis goes on to analyse how to appraise the three telecoms forced access mechanisms in relation to the fundamental rights protection system and to discuss the reasonableness of such an analysis. The final part of the thesis will, by reviewing the legal frameworks of the two jurisdictions, offer answers to the questions raised in the analysis.

This thesis proposes to determine the role of regulation that promotes competition in the telecommunications market in Chile. Regulation has been used in the telecommunications sector at different points in time to fulfil various market needs. Before liberalisation of the telecommunications market, regulation established the parameters of the state-owned telecommunications company. Later, regulations specified the rights and duties of the incumbent. Hypothetically, a higher degree of regulation is necessary to develop new markets, and once progress has been made, a lesser degree of rules is required. This heavier regulation has been called 'regulation for competition', ‘regulatory competition law’ or 'synthetic competition'. Instead, this research proposes the concept of ‘emulated competition’, which is useful to clarify the role of regulation as a mechanism to promote competition. To build the concept of ‘emulated competition’, the thesis reviews the relationship between sectoral regulation and competition law from a theoretical viewpoint. Subsequently, the thesis carries out a comparative analysis between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU) regarding the treatment of certain abuse of dominance cases, particularly with regard to ‘margin squeeze’. To study the Chilean model, the research reviews the constitutional framework of economic regulation and competition law, examining the evolution of pro-competition regulatory tools since the beginning of privatisation. Furthermore, the thesis analyses the case law and regulation issued by the Chilean competition authority in the same period. The analysed topic allows a review of how emulated competition operates in Chile. To sum up, competition law alone is not the best way to introduce competition in the telecommunications market. Therefore, sector-specific regulation has been used to promote competition. In some jurisdictions, it works together with competition law, such as in the EU and Chile. In others, they are incompatible, such as the US. Emulated competition rules could have a higher impact on competition law when they are complements. The research also proposes a model for considering non-economic objectives in competition law matters, and it is a breakthrough in the debate of how to incorporate them in such situations. Finally, the emulated competition concept provides a systematic way of dealing with the intended and unintended effects of pro-competition regulatory tools. The concept itself summarises the contribution to the literature.

It is conventional to argue that the autonomy and reputation of regulatory agencies depend on their expertise. Yet the studies on how independent regulatory agencies (IRAs) create and deploy their knowledge capacity are few and far apart. Normatively, the justification for delegating decision-making powers to IRAs is that they operate by using technical analysis and expertise rather than political considerations. But yet again, although delegation has been discussed as a design principle, systematic evidence on the conditions under which IRAs make use of knowledge and how is still scarce. The literature on knowledge utilization portrays a rather complex link between expertise and policy, where relevant knowledge is not always reflected in policy outcomes and plays several functions besides facilitating the solution of policy problems. Unfortunately, scholars of IRAs have not exploited the insights of this literature yet. This dissertation addresses the under-explored question of the usage of economic knowledge by IRAs. We identify four possible uses of expertise: instrumental (i.e., to solve problems); strategic (e.g. to advocate a position); symbolic (e.g., to gain legitimacy), and non-use. Our aim is to explain under which conditions a certain usage is more likely to occur. To do so, we draw on the methodological device of explanatory typologies (Elman 2005). Specifically, we select two explanatory dimensions that reflect both the context and the content of policy: the level of conflict in the policy arena, and the degree problem tractability. We use different combinations of these two dimensions to derive four hypotheses on the possible uses of expertise mentioned above. The elusive nature of knowledge utilization makes the identification and measurement of these different usages highly dependent on an in-depth understanding of the institutional, organisational, and political context in which a regulatory decision is taken. We have thus opted for a qualitative approach based on case studies and process tracing (Bennett 2010; Brady 2010; Freedman 2010) to appraise the four hypotheses. Empirically, we performed three case studies on regulatory policy decisions taken by the UK Office of Communications (Ofcom) between 2005 and 2010. We find that, given certain scope conditions, the prevalent use of economic analysis is instrumental - a finding that contradicts previous research that labelled instrumental learning as extremely rare, if not a sort of technocratic utopia. Other uses still exist however, and given other scope conditions regulators can be strategic and symbolic in their approach to knowledge and expertise. This is not surprising if we accept the notion that regulators operate in a policy environment that is eminently but not exclusively technical: to survive in a (at least partially) political environment, regulators have to deploy usages of knowledge that deviate from the instrumental type.

This thesis investigates the policy frames employed by civil society organizations (CSOs) in the network neutrality debate in Canada and the United States. Network neutrality is defined as restrictions on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to respect freedom of expression on the Internet and not seek to prevent innovative competition nor control the services or content available to users. The primary question under investigation is the policy frames of CSOs in the debate. The second question is whether CSOs have influenced policy outcomes in either legislation or regulation. The focus of the analysis is on regulatory agencies (CRTC and FCC); proposed legislation in Parliament and Congress is also analyzed as well. By examining the arguments advanced by various policy participants (government, ISPs, and CSOs), common points can be identified that may help the participants come to agreement.

This thesis investigates the policy frames employed by civil society organizations (CSOs) in the network neutrality debate in Canada and the United States. Network neutrality is defined as restrictions on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to respect freedom of expression on the Internet and not seek to prevent innovative competition nor control the services or content available to users. The primary question under investigation is the policy frames of CSOs in the debate. The second question is whether CSOs have influenced policy outcomes in either legislation or regulation. The focus of the analysis is on regulatory agencies (CRTC and FCC); proposed legislation in Parliament and Congress is also analyzed as well. By examining the arguments advanced by various policy participants (government, ISPs, and CSOs), common points can be identified that may help the participants come to agreement.

My research analyses issues in the relationships between the state and the market, including the roles of key institutions and organisations and their interactions in the policy and regulatory governance arenas. The findings, based on documentary analysis, focus group discussions, perceptions analysis and in-depth interviews with representative actors in the public policy system in Sri Lanka, focus specifically on the linkages between the country’s institutional endowments, the reform process and regulatory governance; and the role of mental models, path dependence and ideology – specifically that of the donor and local epistemic community – in influencing economic reforms and regulatory governance. The analysis set forth in this thesis draws on Douglass North’s conceptualisation of New Institutional Economics as well as on the conceptualisation of public policy by seminal scholars in the field such as Harold Lasswell, David Easton, Bill Jenkins, Michael Hill and Wayne Parsons. These theoretical constructs are particularly useful in exploring and obtaining a rich understanding of complex institutional and policy processes and relationships, as well as policy outcomes. Moreover, this framework sits well with the interpretivist research philosophy, inductive approach and qualitative research methods which I use to gather “thick” information on privatisation, competition and regulatory governance in Sri Lanka and in Sri Lanka’s telecommunications sector. An overview of the existing literature on privatisation, competition and regulatory governance in general and in the telecommunications sector in particular, points to a paucity of public policy analyses in developing countries. As such, whilst acknowledging the limitations of single case study research in relation to policy transfer, I posit that my research findings do shed light on a number of critical issues that are relevant to scholars and practitioners interested in understanding the policy process in developing countries. My research findings provide a real world illustration of the futility of dichotomising the state and markets; instead, constructs such as policy and regulatory space are more useful than those such as the regulatory state. Incorporating these constructs of policy and regulatory space also allows for a “thick” understanding of the dynamics between political and socio-economic institutions, organisations and individuals and their impact on policy outputs and outcomes. My findings also provide for a better understanding of regulatory governance in developing countries. Constructs such as responsive regulation, regulatory society and independent regulation that are typically conceived in the literature in a developed country context are critically explored in the Sri Lankan setting. Finally, my research findings extend the literature on privatisation, competition and regulatory governance by illustrating that forces of competition and contestability are more important than ownership change in terms of policy outputs and outcomes, and that – as reflected in the case of Sri Lanka’s telecommunications sector - competition and contestability can in fact transcend forces of weak regulatory governance.

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The following study about the economic performance of the Johannesburg’s small Internet service providers investigates the economic performance of the small Internet providers against the backdrop of regulatory conditions. The study departs from the view point that reports about previous studies have not given particular attention to the economic performance of the small Internet service providers and other impacting factors. The study employed the qualitative research approach with an aim of obtaining deeper understanding and internal view as reiterated by the respondents. The analysis presented follows a guide by Neuman (2006) which departs from the premises of themes or concepts. The results of this study provide a perspective of respondents and the conclusions drawn by the researcher. The study ends by providing suggestions and recommendations for future studies. Suggestions and recommendations provided at the end have been prompted by the results and experiences encountered during the study. / M.A. (Communication Science)

The following study about the economic performance of the Johannesburg’s small Internet service providers investigates the economic performance of the small Internet providers against the backdrop of regulatory conditions. The study departs from the view point that reports about previous studies have not given particular attention to the economic performance of the small Internet service providers and other impacting factors. The study employed the qualitative research approach with an aim of obtaining deeper understanding and internal view as reiterated by the respondents. The analysis presented follows a guide by Neuman (2006) which departs from the premises of themes or concepts. The results of this study provide a perspective of respondents and the conclusions drawn by the researcher. The study ends by providing suggestions and recommendations for future studies. Suggestions and recommendations provided at the end have been prompted by the results and experiences encountered during the study. / M.A. (Communication Science)