Until recently, utility services (telecommunications, power, water, and gas) throughout the world were provided by large, usually state-owned, monopolies. However, encouraged by technological change, regulatory innovation, and pressure from international organizations, many developing countries...

June 1999 - Empirical analysis of telecommunications reforms in 30 African and Latin American countries yields results largely consistent with conventional wisdom. Competition seems to be the most successful change agent, so granting even temporary monopolies may delay the arrival of better...

In 1997 the U.S. Federal Communications Commission ordered sharp reductions in international settlement rates (bilaterally negotiated rates for telecom traffic between pairs of countries) for telecom traffic between the United States and the rest of the world. Even the very poorest countries,...