Erosion of monopoly power by call-back. Lessons from Hong Kong

As Hong Kong Telecommunications International (HKTI) has been granted an exclusive licence to provide an international call service which does not expire until 2006, the Hong Kong Government could only pledge to open up the international facsimile and data services under the new WTO agreement. Howev...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Telecommunications policy 1997-10, Vol.21 (8), p.693-695
Main Author: Lam, Pun-Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Call back services
Hong Kong
Telecommunications industry
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Summary:As Hong Kong Telecommunications International (HKTI) has been granted an exclusive licence to provide an international call service which does not expire until 2006, the Hong Kong Government could only pledge to open up the international facsimile and data services under the new WTO agreement. However, the exclusive licence does not really insulate HKTI from market competition brought about by technological developments. Evidence in Hong Kong has shown that the price differential between outgoing and incoming calls need not be so large before call-back operators are attracted to the business. Institutional arrangements have also allowed the prices of call-back services in Hong Kong to be well below the settlement rates. The competitive pressure exerted by call-back services has been understated by many analysts.
ISSN:0308-5961
1879-3258
DOI:10.1016/S0308-5961(97)85743-6