The Politics of Telecommunications

Mark Thatcher is Lecturer in Public Administration and Public Policy, Department of Government, London School of Economics.

INTRODUCTION ; 1. National Institutions, Differences, Stability and Change ; 2THE ROOTS OF HISTORY: TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN BRITAIN AND FRANCE BEFORE 1969 ; 3 TECHNOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC PRESSURES FOR CHANGE IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS FROM THE 1960S TO THE 1990S ; 4 PRESSURES FOR CHANGE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS FROM THE 1960S TO THE 1990S ; PART TWO INSTITUTIONS AND POLICY MAKING 1969-1979 ; 5THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN BRITAIN AND FRANCE 1969-1979: DIVERGENCE, REFORM AND STANDSTILL ; 6 POLICY MAKING IN THE 1970S: CONSTRAINTS IN BRITAIN, BOLDNESS IN FRANCE ; PART THREE INSTITUTIONS AND POLICY MAKING 1980-1996 ; 7 THE INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS 1980-1997: NATIONAL CHANGE, DIVERGENCE AND DIFFERENCES ; 8THE IMPACTS OF INSTITUTIONAL DIVERGENCE: THE NETWORK OPERATORS IN BRITAIN AND FRANCE DURING THE 1980S ; 9 COMPETITION IN NETWORK OPERATION 1990-1996: DIFFERING NATIONAL PATHS AWAY FROM MONOPOLY ; 10 POLICY MAKING IN A NEW FIELD OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS: ADVANCED NETWORKS AND SERVICES AND CUSTOMER PREMISES EQUIPMENT FROM THE LATE 1970S TO THE MID-1990S ; PART FOUR ECONOMIC OUTCOMES ; 11 ECONOMIC OUTCOMES IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR IN BRITAIN AND FRANCE 1970-1997: CONVERGENCE DESPITE INSTITUTIONAL DIVERGENCE ; PART FIVE CONCLUSIONS ; 12 CONCLUSION: NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS, POLICY AND CHANGE