European competition law in the electronic communications sector:: evolution and critical analysis

Following a preparatory process that lasted about ten years, on January 1, 1998, the telecommunication services market was completely liberalised in most European Union countries. It was obvious that in the telecommunications industry, competition could not be quickly established simply by knocking down the legal obstacles. As a result, the first regulatory framework tried to meticulously "conduct" the development of competition in the market. Nevertheless, this scheme evolved along with technology and market competition development. A new regulatory framework for electronic communications was approved in 2002; its main objective is the rapprochement of sectorial regulation towards general Competition Law, based on an ex post intervention. The article sumarises these regulatory changes and then,focuses on the description and analysis of the main main novel instruments which are being applied under the current regime. Additionally, a critical assessment of the results achieved since its enforcement is made pointing out further challenges to be faced by its progressive practical implementation. The analysis of the weaknesses of the current model is particularly interesting at a time when the European Commission has already started the reform of the regulatory framework in force.