Fiera

Antitrust regulation and Competition Policy in the European Union and in the Czech Republic

Spain telecommunications industry

Victor Buñuel Romeo

University of Zaragoza

Summary
1. Introduction

2. Theoretic issues of the antirust regulation
-Price discrimination
-Predatory pricing
-Exclusive contract

3. Description of the chosen case
-Regulator
-History of theSpanish telecomunication
- Situation of Nowadays
-Recent trend

4. Conclusion

5. Reference

1 Introduction
Due to the changes in the regulatory framework for telecommunications activities, the two services have become in markets with radically different structures.
The evolution of the regulatory framework has had a significant impact on the sector. The European Commission has playeda crucial role in defining the regulatory framework that encourages the creation of a highly competitive market for telecommunications services.
As a result of the transposition of European directives, the former public monopolies now face competition in their domestic markets.
The telecommunications sector experienced significant growth in the second half of the nineties, before thederegulation and privatization of the old sector operators modificasen the picture. The intense competition has led to a reduction in prices in recent years, including the telephone service of the dominant operators, reflecting the approach of the European regulatory framework that promotes the interests of consumers.
However, new operators have reaped only partially successful, as demand for services hasnot met the expectations.

2 Theoretic issues of antitrust regulation and history

An antitrust policy is designed to affect competition. The general goal behind such a policy is to keep markets open and competitive. These regulations are used by different governments around the world, although the laws often vary.
In most countries, antitrust policies are written into law. In the UnitedStates, they are mainly handled by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. The FTC mainly deals with issues of consumer protection while the AntitrustDivision is generally responsible for criminal violations of an antitrust policy.
Most countries do not have two regulatory bodies as is seen in the US. In Europe, for example, the CompetitionDirectorate is the sole government body that generally handles an antitrustpolicy. It is common throughout the world for disputes regarding these policies to be handled by a judicial body.
In the United States, the ideas for such policies began after the Civil War when large trusts began to emerge in important industries such as petroleum and cotton. Concerns of abuse led to the first antitrust policy,known as the Sherman Act. This piece of legislation declared that actions that restrain trade or create monopolies are anticompetitive and therefore illegal.

Anti-trust law continued to be developed over the next century. Landmark legislation was passed during this time. In 1914, the Clayton Act became law. This made certain types ofmergers illegal and granted certain regulatory powers to theExecutive branch. To balance that power, Congress also created the FTC.
When an antitrust policy is made or when a violation is accessed there are usually two things to consider — the public interest and the interest of the economy. In the US, assessments are often based on a standard of reasonability. There is often a great deal of debate over what standards are used to determine when an actionis unreasonable. Per se rules are also used, which deem certain practices illegal based on their face value. The mode of analyzing anantitrust policy and potentially violating actions is also a matter of great debate.
Antitrust polices are not only restricted to competition within a nation. Enforcing violations is however more difficult when a lawbreaker is in another nation. In many cases,...