Regulators as Reflexive Governance Platforms

citation manager

Date: 04-09-2012

Abstract: Network industries are now characterized by a regime of permanent innovation, while they continue to be fixed and sunk cost industries, due to the high level of investments in R&D and infrastructures. Players in these industries need to coordinate ...their investments; hence a threat of collusion. In the same time competition is fierce due to the opportunities brought by innovations; hence the permanent risk of catastrophic evolutions due to systemic interdependencies. To balance this dilemma between coordination and competition, independent third parties granted with capabilities to influence the “rules of the game” are needed. They need however to access critical information and knowledge. Coordination of investments requires figuring out the possible futures of the technology and of the industry. Avoiding oligopoly capture relies on an understanding of costs and business models. Since the relevant information and knowledge are dispersed and permanently evolving, regulators have to organize fora in which the stakeholders have incentives to reveal information, both because they need to learn from others, and because they seek to influence the industry regulation. Properly organized fora establish an open information competition among stakeholders, which can be penalized if they hide or distort information too much.hide

Cognitive Radio: Enabling Technology in Need of Coordination

citation manager

Date: 04-09-2012

Abstract: As enabling technology, Cognitive Radio (CR) holds an interesting promise for improved utilization of the radio frequency spectrum by using knowledge of the local radio environment and understanding the user’s communications needs. These CR capabil...ities are highly valuable for the introduction of new radio communication services, as all (usable) radio spectrum has been allocated and assigned, while in practice the spectrum appears to be under-utilized, considering time and place. However, the CR innovation journey is still in an early stage of unfolding. There is a large degree of uncertainty that will have to be mitigated before successful, large-scale deployment of the technology may be expected and the potential economic value can be realized. This contribution is aimed at identifying the instances of coordination that have led to successful deployment of new radio technologies in the past in an attempt to support the successful deployment of CR-based products and services in the near future.hide

Competition and Technology Adoption in Two-Sided Network Markets

citation manager

Date: 04-09-2012

Abstract: Investment in the face of entry has been a strategy used by incumbents firms. Nevertheless, the concept applies to traditional sectors of industry and not for contemporary network contexts. This article reports a study that has examined the strateg...ic behavior of the incumbent local exchange carriers in the United States telecommunications with respect to technology investments in the face of competitive entry over a fourteen year period, 1988 to 2001. The general finding is that in the face of competitive entry the incumbents underinvested in broadband technology, an approach consistent with desires to constrain entry or reflecting an inability or unwillingness to supply unbundled network services at low rates. The possibilities of inter-modal cable competition also led to underinvestment of broadband, which could be made potentially obsolete by cable companies, but positive investments in digital technologies. Controlling for firm-specific behavior, in the post-1996 period, after the Telecommunications Act was passed, it was noted that the Bell operating companies displayed positive investment patterns. The evidence displays interesting dynamics at work in the investment behavior of telecommunications firms as the market has become competitive.hide

Non-Discriminatory Energy System Operation: What Does It Mean?

citation manager

Date: 04-09-2012

Abstract: This paper is concerned with non-discriminatory operation of energy systems and the questions of i. what discrimination in this context means, ii. what are the characteristics that distinguish system user A from system user B, and iii. whether dist...inctions between system users mean system users are dissimilar hence justifying differences in treatment towards them. It is argued that the non-discrimination obligation for energy system operators aims at providing the basis and the fundament upon which competition on equal terms among gas and electricity suppliers is to develop. This means that the way system operators operate their networks should facilitate competition between system users e.g. suppliers, traders, and generators/producers. Consequently, non-discriminatory system operation aims at equality of system users to the extent necessary to achieve this. This means that the non-discrimination obligation for energy system operators does not strive to reach absolute equality of system users. This paper concludes that system users differ in many ways e.g. the way they use the system, their company (risk) profile, the quality and origin of the gas/electricity they transport, and the point of time, type and amount of their system service request. These differences can both be used to demonstrate that system users should not be treated the same because they are i. not similar in the first place or ii. are not in an analogous situation. These factors cannot be used as objective justification grounds given that the EU Court only accepts justification grounds explicitly mentioned in the Directives and Regulations.hide