International Journal of Communications Law & Policy

THE APPLICATION OF EC COMPETITION RULES TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Selected Aspects: The Case of Interconnection
By Wolfgang Jauk

Download the Paper in PDF Format: IJCLP Web-Doc 2-4-2000

Abstract

Legal issues concerning the interconnection of telecommunications networks were not in the middle of academic interest in the past but with the recent liberalization, initialized and supported by European legislation and jurisprudence, interconnection issues are becoming more important and therefore issued. However, there is not so much research done yet in this very dynamic field. This master thesis thus deals with the following matters. The first chapter gives a short overview over regulatory and policy developments and examines the process of liberalization and deregulation in European telecommunications. The main chapter is divided into two parts. The first one deals with EC competition law in general and investigates article 82 (ex-art 86 TEC), especially its characteristic features, and the second part tries to apply article 82 (ex-art 86 TEC) to telecommunications. It starts with the concept of ‚essential facilities' and then analyses an obligation and a right to interconnect in the light of article 82 (ex-art 86 TEC). The last chapter gives an outlook to the EU regulatory approach to access in a liberalized environment and to EC competition rules and non-discriminatory access