The evolution of mobile communications in Europe: The transition from the second to the third generation

  • Authors:

  • Lucio Fuentelsaz;Juan Pablo Maícas;Yolanda Polo

  • Affiliations:

  • Departamento de Economía y Dirección de Empresas, University of Zaragoza, Gran Vía 2 50005 Zaragoza, Spain;Departamento de Economía y Dirección de Empresas, University of Zaragoza, Gran Vía 2 50005 Zaragoza, Spain;Departamento de Economía y Dirección de Empresas, University of Zaragoza, Gran Vía 2 50005 Zaragoza, Spain

  • Venue:
  • Telecommunications Policy
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

This paper analyses the evolution of the mobile communications industry in the European Union. The research focuses its interest on the different roles played by the regulator in Europe and in other regions of the world (mainly the US). The diffusion of GSM was extraordinarily fast in Europe, mainly due to the adoption of a unified standard from inception. This rapid diffusion has resulted in an important competitive advantage for European operators. Interestingly, while the regulator acted similarly in the case of UMTS, the development of the latter has faced many problems and, presently, its diffusion is still low (about 5% in the EU). The paper also offers basic information on market structure that may be useful for extracting some preliminary conclusions about the degree of rivalry within the industry and the differences that can be observed between European countries.