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This chapter considers the ways in which sweeping technological and economic developments altered the nature of the telecommunications sector. It argues that in the twenty-eight years under consideration, these technological and economic developments were exogenous to Britain and France: policy-makers in the two countries could not greatly influence the technological and economic development of the sector, and resulting opportunities and pressures; only whether and how to introduce new technology within their countries.

This chapter examines the implications and lessons of regulatory reform and trade liberalization in the telecommunications services sector in Korea. It discusses the history of the deregulation process and explains how Korea has transformed the market since 1990 by taking advantage of the opportunities given by trade negotiations. This chapter also explores the impact of the most recent regulatory reforms made in conjunction with World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on basic telecommunications on market performance with respect to contestability and competition.

This chapter examines the telecommunications sector in Myanmar. Strict adherence to ideology and commercial self-interest, in the guises of “national security” and military-controlled state-enterprises, has confined access to telecommunications to a few. A World Bank report of 1995 notes the general lack of private access to physical infrastructure, including telecommunications, and how this skews foreign investment towards joint ventures with the state. Public telecom facilities, fixed and wireless, continue to be state-owned and controlled by Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT). Under the 1989 State-Owned Economic Enterprise Law, part of the Open Door policy, telecommunication facilities and services were the sole right of the government, but government-private sector joint ventures were permitted. Other laws which impact the telecom sector are the Computer Science Development Law enacted in 1996 and the Electronic Transaction Law which took effect in April 2004.

This chapter discusses the development of the telecommunications sector in Cambodia. Cambodia has taken a liberal approach to the development of the telecommunications sector and market entry, and a variety of arrangements have been used to attract investment, including joint ventures, business co-operation contracts (used for the first international gateway with Telstra of Australia, but now expired), and wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign companies. In 2006 the Vietnam Data Communications Company entered into an agreement with local wireless Internet company WiCAM to provide 2 Mbps (to be increased to 6 Mbps) digital subscriber line connections. eBTechnologies (Malaysia) was also awarded a turnkey contract to build a wireline and wireless broadband Internet network for Cambodian Broadband Technologies Company (CB Technologies) with eBTechnologies having an option to buy shares in the venture.

This chapter examines the telecommunications sector of the Philippines. Competitive oligopoly between Smart and Globe dominates the cellular mobile market, with Sun (Digitel) contending hard as the third player following Smart's takeover of Piltel. Extelcom (BayanTel) has converted its small analogue AMPS network over to CDMA, while Next Mobile (previously owned by the US company Nextel) offers iDEN group talk mobile technology. In addition there are over seventy small local exchange carriers (LECs) spread across the country, fourteen inter-exchange carriers, eleven international gateway facilities and hundreds of value-added service providers. Overall, the market is small and fragmented, dominated in fixed and mobile by PLDT/Smart and Globe/Innove.