The new EU approach to sector regulation in the network infrastructure industries

This thesis investigates the effect of linking sector regulation with competition law in the electronic communications sector in the European Union. It examines two questions. The first is whether, on balance, aligning sector regulation with competition law helps or hinders the achievement of specified regulatory objectives such as improved market structures and economic efficiency. The second question is whether linking sector regulation and competition law is a good way of achieving regulatory coordination and consistency across EU member states. The main finding is that it was unwise to link sector regulation and competition law in such a tight methodological and institutional fashion.