Unit 2: Types and Styles of Regulation

Introduction

The types and styles of regulation adopted by governments are usually determined by what they want to achieve in economic, social and political terms. This is especially true for the telecommunications sector worldwide. The traditional model of regulation was characterized by government protection of monopolies which generally regulated their own operations, arguably self-regulation. However with the migration away from monopoly based services to competitive markets, most government have elected to set-up agencies, and in some cases commissions to regulate the sector. Some of the agencies were set-up within ministeries as in France and Namibia, whilst in other cases they were set-up as separate entities as in South Africa, Botswana and the United Kingdom. This study unit, Types and Styles of Regulation, seeks to provide a overview of the styles and types of regulation prevalent in the sector.