We are pleased to present to you Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2000-2001, the third edition of the International Telecommunication Union’s report on sector restructuring. The theme of this year’s report is interconnection regulation.

The relentless transformation of the telecommunication marketplace has shown no signs of slowing in the past 12 months. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the global telecommunication industry is being reshaped by fundamental changes in...

Effective interconnection arrangements are essential for the development of today’s integrated global telecommunication networks. Interconnection is one of the foundations of viable competition, which in turn is the main driver of growth and...

As governments and regional organizations work to set the ground rules for interconnection, they inevitably confront vexing and complex issues involving the basic legal and regulatory frameworks that must be installed and enforced, as well as the...

As in politics and marriage, most disputes and discussions about interconnection ultimately come down to economics. Incumbents want to protect their market shares, while new competitors need to establish a profitable market presence. The outcomes of...

As policy-makers and regulators across the globe rewrite their laws and regulations to allow competition in their telecommunication sectors, they are encountering a problem: Incumbents have a massive head start in the market. Existing network...

The Internet industry, like other segments of the communications sector, relies on interconnection. Current Internet interconnection practices, however, differ substantially from those in other telecommunication sectors.

Throughout most of the history of the telecommunication sector, the only type of “interconnection” arrangement was across international borders. Once the original, city-wide telephone networks in a particular country had been consolidated by a single...

At the dawn of a new millennium, the nations of the world are more interconnected than at any previous time in human history. Indeed, for many individuals, the astounding changes in communications technology have revolutionized their livelihoods and...