Private muddling through as a political programme? The role of the European commission in the telecommunications sector in the 1980s

Public Policy, Organized Interests and Patrimonialism in Southern Europe: The Case of Telecommunications

“…-that of building arenas which would enable private economic players to reach a compromise while harmonizing their various interests (Esser & Noppe, 1996). This theory has undeniable descriptive and analytical assets.…”

“…In turn, this can explain why the interests of the southern European telecommunications, taken on a global scale, have not played a pivotal role in the intellectual development of new standards for national and European public actions. The dynamics themselves of these changes which took place within these arenas tend to increase the loss of influence of southern European countries, such as those organizations with non-economic interests (Esser & Noppe, 1996).…”

Europe says goodbye to "universal services" in telecommunications - and what comes next?

“…In Germany and France, the countries which we have studied most closely, these developments did not initially jeopardise the consensus between social and political players that the necessary restructuring process should be managed through gradual adjustments and rationalisation measures, thereby maintaining both the monopolies themselves and the political-economic role of the telephony administrations (for more details on this seeProjektgruppe 1988; Grande 1989;Cawson et al 1990;Esser et al 1995;Felh6lter 1997;Lemke, Waringo 1997;Lüthje 1997a). Equally, telecommunications policy at European level was still determined at the time by the gradual shift in the &dquo;universal service&dquo; towards the European Community as a whole (Esser, Noppe 1996;). …”

“…This model is being replaced by different infrastructure policies in different countries, which are creating the need for a new type of international re-regulation, particularly in the areas of standardisation of the international communications infrastructure. Various different transnational regulation arenas are now emerging, and at European level the EC Commission is successfully bringing together the different national coalitions in European platforms for the purpose of market regulation, research and development of a broad-band Euro-ISDN (RACE) as well as standardisation (European Telecommunications Standard Institute, ETSI) (Esser, Noppe 1996).…”

“…It therefore makes sense that the so-called European structure of &dquo;a European information society&dquo; so far seems only to amount to the creation of institutional forms (arenas). In these arenas the various players from industry, associations, national governments and scientific circles can find a framework for the necessary co-operation and both the reciprocal opening up of the market and where the necessary harmonisation between different regulations can be negotiated, while new technologies and standards are jointly developed (Esser, Noppe 1996). This is not to say that this harmonisation will actually be successful, in view of the increasing struggle for position in the world market.…”