Gateway Liberalisation- stimulating economic growth
The question is: which structure - monopoly
or liberalisation - best serves a country and its
citizens today?
 International Gateways (IGWs) are the services through
which international calls are sent and received. While
most developed markets now have fully competitive international
telecommunications markets, many countries in the Asia-Pacific,
Middle East, Africa, Central and South American regions
have yet to liberalise IGWs and monopoly supply continues.
The GSM Association strongly believes that for developing
countries to fully share in the globalising economy,
it is essential that their IGWs be fully liberalised
to allow competition and private investment. The introduction
of competition into the international gateways market
can reduce call prices by up to 90% and double call
volumes, according to the study, entitled "Gateway
Liberalisation: Stimulating Economic Growth". The study,
undertaken by CRA International and Gilbert and Tobin
examines the experiences of a range of countries at
various stages of liberalising their international
gateway (IGW) services. Measuring the overall outcome
of liberalisation in terms of prices, traffic volumes,
demand elasticity and the wider economic effects in
addition to the relative success of different approaches
to liberalisation.
The report found that IGW monopolies hold markets
back. For example:
- In Bangladesh, where an IGW monopoly is maintained,
telecoms investment as a percentage GDP is 70% lower
and call prices are 2 to 3 times higher than the
average. [1] For Bangladesh businesses that compete
with their Indian neighbours in the global market,
the cost of communicating is substantially higher
putting them at a competitive disadvantage.
- In Kenya, local mobile operator Safaricom received
an international gateways license in 2006 and was
able to cut international call prices by 70%.
Similarly, the price of international calls from
Nigeria has fallen by more than 90% since liberalisation.
[1] Average calculated from the case study sample: Kenya, Malta, Morocco, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Egypt, Bangladesh
Benefits of IGW liberalisation:
- Lower Retail prices
- Higher levels of international call volumes
- More efficient and higher quality telecommunications
services
- Increased investment and employment opportunities
- Wider economic benefits
- Benefits to Government
The full report looks at key areas such as:
- Cost of IGW monopolies
- Impediments to liberalisation
- The approach to liberalisation
- Recommendations and conclusions
Download the executive summary (5kb, pdf)
Download the full report (6mb, pdf) |
