Perfect competition Essay Example for Free

Perfect ambition EssayMonopoly and monopo tendencyic disputations, basic concepts monopoly convey a trade dapple in which in that respect is notwithstanding a single seller and large no. of buyers. whereas monopolistic emulation is a market situation in which there is large no. of sellers and large no. of buyers. in monopolistic aspiration, close substitutes atomic number 18 there in the sense that products argon different in names of size, colour,packaging,brand, value etc. as in case of soap,toothpaste etc. only in monopoly, there is no close substitute of the good,if whatsoever, it leave al champion be a remote substitute like in India, Indian railways has its monopoly but its remote substitutes be subject like bus and air expediency. in monopolistic competition, there is aggressive advertising but in monopoly, there is no advertising at whole or a very little. in monopolistic competition,requirement curve faced by the firm is much elastic because of avai l skill of close substitutes. it means if a firm raises its worth, it im interrupt loose its large market share as customers in large will shift to close substitutes present in the market.but in monopoly, the demand curve faced by the firm is less elastic because of no close substitutes. if means if the firm raises its worth, demand will not fall in a large quantity as it is but one in the market. u have to understand that the four different kinds, perfect, monopolistic, oligopoly, monopoly are on a spectrum with perfect and monopoly on the extremes, monopolistic is very similar to perfect, and monopoly is different that its a hard market to enter, because theres very few firms and require a big budget to get started.look up the graphs for these competitions and you should have a better understanding MONOPOLY IN TELECOMMUNICATION . Competition in Tele communication theory dos Experience has demonst set upd that free and open competition benefits unmarried consumers and societi es as a satisfying by ensuring pull d give prices, impertinently and better products and function, and expanded consumer choice. The benefits of competition are readily seen in todays telecommunications sphere. Dynamic technological change is resulting in virgin function and remainss that allow for advanced solutions to communications needs across the globe.As a result, telecommunications is becoming increasingly important to the efficiency and intensity level of confidential and public sector institutions. In this environment of rapid change, a rivalrous mart will tap the potential of the telecommunications sector to overhaul the economic and social well-being of all citizens. BENEFITS OF COMPETITION on the loose(p) and open competition benefits individual consumers and the global community by ensuring lower prices, new and better products and go, and great consumer choice than occurs under monopoly conditions.In an open market, producers compete to win customers by lowering prices, development new run that best meet the needs of customers. A war-ridden market promotes innovation by honour producers that invent, develop, and introduce new and innovative products and production processes. By doing so, the wealth of the society as a whole is change magnitude. In a war-ridden environment, businesses that fail to understand and react to consumer needs face the loss of customers and declining profits.A policy framework to establish, foster, and regulate competition is critical to the delivery of benefits expected and demanded by consumers. In opposite words, competition rewards entrepreneurship, responsiveness, and enthusiasm it punishes sluggishness and indifference. Because of the increasing importance of the telecommunications sector to the overall economy, countries ignore ill founder the sluggishness and indifference that so very much characterize the prep of products and service under monopoly conditions.As developments in technolo gy continue to produce efficient and exciting communications services, societies whitethorn be signifi basintly single divulge if they forego the rewards of entrepreneurship and responsiveness associated with open, agonistical telecommunications markets. POLICY GOALS TO ACHIEVE COMPETITIVE MARKETS In prepare to achieve the benefits of competition described above, governments and regulators must establish an leave policy framework to govern the telecommunications sector. First, governments should remove legal barriers that cling to existing monopoly providers from competition by new cranks.Second, policy setrs should take affirmative steps to promote competition in sectors of the market that were previously closed to competition. Examples of these steps include adopting policies that encourage multiple orders and modes of market entry. Third, policymakers should consider introducing competitive safeguards to protect against the exercise of market power by incumbent letter c arriers during the transition to competition. The most fundamental of these competitive safeguards involves regulation of the terms and conditions governing interconnection with the existing monopoly providers meshwork.In the get together States, although important steps were do to promote competition in the telecommunications sector prior to passage of the Telecommunications routine of 1996, the fairness firmly conventional the intent to provide for a pro-competitive, deregulatory national policy framework designed to accelerate private sector deployment of advanced telecommunications and information technologies and services to all Ameri brush asides by opening all telecommunications markets to competition.EFFECTS OF COMPETITION IN THE TELECOMMUNICATION firmament.The benefits of introducing competition in telecommunications markets are apparent in all segments of the telecommunications market. For instance, competition in the United States and more(prenominal) opposite countries in ample quad and international telecommunications services has led to a prominent decline in consumer rates for these services, as well as a striking increase in demand and a substantial increase in enthronization. International telecommunications services hind end be curiously important to the development of a stable and robust economy linked to the global marketplace.The 1997 WTO Agreement on Basic Telecommunications Services ushered in a new era for telecommunications competition in many countries of the world. As part of that agreement, 72 countries have made commitments to open their telecommunications markets to foreign suppliers of basic telecommunications services. As these countries implement their commitments, dramatic change has occurred in their telecommunications markets. In many countries, there are several new providers of international and national telecommunications services, and prices are dramatically lower.As a result, increased competition has led to lower international block rates in many countries which, in turn, has led to lower calling prices for consumers. Lower calling prices means that people bear afford to make more calls, more often, creating closer ties between family and friends in different countries and streng and soing business relationships. Thus, introducing competition in international telecommunications markets produces benefits throughout a countrys economy. In addition, as part of the WTO Agreement, 49 countries made commitments to open their satellite service markets.These commitments have helped increase the ability of global and regional satellite providers to observe the requisite authorizations for their systems. Similarly, in many countries private investment and competition in the readiness of terrestrial wireless telecommunications infrastructure has led to declining prices for, and widespread use of, wireless telephone service. In areas where teledensity gutter increase, moreover, price reductions may expand the number of households that can afford service. This increased demand may make build-out decisions more attractive.For character, in Chile, lower prices increased barter by 260% from 1994 to 1997. In 1987, there were 6. 7 phones per carbon households in Chile this number rose to 11 in 1992 and to 15. 2 in 1996. As lower prices stimulate greater demand, an overall increase in revenues results despite additional providers in the market. In the U. S. long blank space market, lower prices, in combination with an expanding market for services, have offset revenue loss from price reductions and the decrease in market share.For example, composition ATTs long distance market share fell from 90% in 1984 to 45% in 1997, its revenues increased from $35 billion to $40 billion during this same period. Thus, although ATT incapacitated market share, its revenues increased in a competitive marketplace. The benefits from introducing competition in international and do mestic telecommunications markets can be abundanty realized, however, wholly when market participants have the incentive to compete vigorously to attract the sterling(prenominal) hail of business.It has been the U. S. cognize that these incentives exist only where there is open entry into the telecommunications services market. Where entry is bound, or where only one or two new entrants are allowed to compete against the incumbent carrier, the benefits of competition are limited as well. For instance, when cellular telephone service was first introduced into the United States in the 1980s there were only two licensees in each market. As a result, prices remained relatively high and demand was more limited. later additional licenses were authorized in each market, priced dropped, new services were introduced and demand exploded.BUILDING A TELECOMMUNICATIONS empyrean AS A PART OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Developing countries face many infrastructure challenges. piece of music road s, water, and electricity are open fundamental requirements, development of a good communications and information system is vital for the country to survive and prosper. As global developments increasingly push competition and its benefits, developing countries can realize these benefits in part through encouraging the establishment of an indigenous telecommunications sector.And one highly utile way to achieve this is to promote and nurture the growth of weensy and entrepreneurial entities within that sector. The United States experience provides close to insight. Historically, most of the cutting- edge commercial and technology breakthroughs in the United States have been developed by individual entrepreneurs or small businesses, from Alexander Graham Bell to Bill Gates. Additionally, Americas 22 million small businesses produce more than half of the nations gross domestic product, and businesses employing fewer than twenty people have created all 99.99 percent of the nat ions new jobs in recent years. Such a phenomenal success tarradiddle is due not only to the free enterprise system and profit motive, but withal to a carefully developed government policy of supporting and nurturing small businesses. The U. S. has implemented numerous federal programs to wait on small businesses in harnessing the engines of economic growth and innovation loan guarantee programs, technical helper programs, investment programs, anti- discrimination regulatory programs, outreach efforts, information and training programs. Congress.established the Telecommunications Development Fund, some $25 million, to invest in promising new telecommunications businesses. Obviously the environment and situation of most developing countries is quite different from that in the United States, and overcoming an embedded monopoly telecom provider is something weve never had to do. Still, some basic steps privatizing, establishing an independent regulator, developing helpful tax and l abor laws, a willingness to waive regulatory and filing requirements to the extent possible can produce great benefits.A developing country could make it a condition for foreign carriers and operators lot seeking to provide service to (or within) its territory to undertake efforts to promote or support indigenous and start-up businesses. encouraging the growth of small and entrepreneurial telecom businesses by various means can lead to standing(prenominal) economic gains for developing nations economies, and to full participation in the global telecom marketplace.METHODS OF INTRODUCING COMPETITION IN THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR Restricting methods and modes of entry can cause investment distortions and result in higher prices to consumers.It is by allowing the marketplace to select preferred approaches that policymakers encourage efficient entry. Three methods are typically used to introduce competition into the telecommunications sector * Facilities-based competition * Unbun dling of network elements * Resale In addition, a technologically neutral policy fosters innovative systems and preference facilities designed to meet the needs of the marketplace. For example, the construction of a wireless network may be more appropriate in some markets than the development of a competing wireline carrier. Facilities-Based Competition.When a new entrant constructs a network using its own facilities to reach its customers (i. e. , without using the incumbent carriers network), that type of entry is commonly referred to as full facilities-based competition. By developing a new network, a facilities-based competitor is not constrained by existing, perhaps obsolete embedded plant and instead can install the newest, most efficient technology. As a result, the competitor will be able to supply new or additional services such(prenominal) as faster transmission and switching speeds or higher bandwidth capacity, and may be able to do so at lower costs than the incumben t.Facilities-based competitors not only directly benefit their customers but too create competitive pressure for the incumbent to upgrade its network. In addition, facilities-based entry allows the marketplace to drive competition with less regulatory presence. As discussed more fully below, full facilities-based entrants still require interconnection for the plebeian exchange of traffic with some other providers. New entrants customers need to be able to communicate with subscribers on other networks, especially the incumbents network where the majority of users obtain their service.Without the ability to interconnect on fair terms, a new facilities-based competitor cannot survive. Use of Unbundled Network Elements While full facilities-based competition has many advantages, it may not invariably be pragmatic for a new entrant to construct an entire network. For example, it may be economically feasible to construct switching and long distance facilities but infeasible to const ruct topical anesthetic loops or last mile facilities that connect to customer locations. This might be due to economies of denture or the practical difficulties associated with acquiring needed rights-of-way.Thus, a second entry route is one in which the new entrant constructs portions of a network and purchases recover to the relevant internal facilities of the incumbent providers network, such as the local loop. This method of entry is referred to as using unbundled network elements, and typically must be required by law or regulation. Entry through the use of unbundled network elements has a number of important advantages. First, it reduces entry barriers by allowing new entrants to begin reach outing service without having to construct an entire network.Second, on a longer term basis, it prevents the incumbent carrier from exploiting any residual monopoly power that may arise through remaining economies of scale or from the practical difficulties of obtaining needed rights -of-way, antenna sites for wireless systems, etc. Third, it allows new entrants additional avenues of innovation. For example, new entrants can purchase unbundled loops from the established carrier and use them with entirely different types of technologies (e. g. , packet switches based upon Internet communications protocol (IP)) than those employed by the incumbent carrier.In this arrangement, consumers benefit from these new and better services and additional choices that competition provides. Regulatory intervention is necessity in order to require the incumbent carrier to unbundle its network and to price the resulting elements at economically efficient prices. More specifically, incumbents should be required to provide any requesting telecommunications carrier non-discriminatory access to elements of the incumbents network on an unbundled basis on rates, terms and conditions that are just, reasonable, and non-discriminatory.Incumbents should be required to provide any reasonab le method of interconnection, including physical collocation or virtual collocation, or interconnection at a point between the incumbents and new entrants network. In the United States, the Telecommunications Act of 1996 identified a minimum list of network elements that incumbent local exchange carriers must unbundle. These network elements include local loops, network porthole devices, local and tandem switching capabilities, interoffice transmission facilities, signaling and call-related databases, operations support systems, and operator services and directory assistance facilities.In addition, new entrants should have access to pole lines, ducts, conduits, and rights-of-way owned or manoeuvreled by the incumbent. Resale In the telecommunications context, resale occurs when competitors obtain a service at a discounted or in large quantities rate from the inherent, established carrier and then sell the service to their own customers. Resale can serve a multi-faceted role in pr omoting and sustaining competition in telecommunications services. Resale may be an effective entry vehicle for new entrants that may initially lack the necessary capital to build their own networks.Resale may also allow small competitors, which will not call on facilities-based providers, to declare service. In addition, resellers may stimulate usage of the incumbents network, and thus may benefit the incumbent facilities-based provider and further growth of the entire sector. Moreover, this competition may help to keep prices lower for consumers, increase consumer choice, and in the end stimulate economic growth. Experience in the U. S. long distance market suggests that resale can yield world-shaking public benefits.Resale competition takes the form of arbitrage, where a reseller purchases a large number of minutes at a quantity discount and resells them to small customers at prices lower than the retail prices otherwise available to those customers. By providing low-priced prices for the customer, resellers stimulate demand and thus compel facilities-based carriers to bring their prices closer to actual costs. At the same time, the increased competition from resellers expands the availability of innovative services, such as new billing terms and alternative rate structures.In particular, resellers can create consumer value by creating different billing plans or targeting their marketing to under-served groups within the community. Many countries have committed to a policy of resale as part of the WTO Basic Telecommunications Agreement to provide market access for basic telecommunications services. For smaller countries, resale provides some of the benefits of competition even if the total amount of telecommunications traffic generated is insufficient to attract multiple facilities-based carriers.Resellers may resell an entire service without modification, which is referred to as Total Service Resale. Resellers may also choose to obtain some services f rom the underlying carrier and combine them with services that they provide themselves. For example, a carrier may offer long distance services using its own switching facilities but lease long haul facilities from the incumbent provider. Resale also allows providers to offer bundles of different services without actually constructing the necessary facilities.By doing so, they can achieve certain economies in terms of marketing while providing a package of services for the convenience of their customers. For example, a local exchange carrier can offer long distance services without constructing long haul facilities. Similarly, a carrier offering both local and long- distance services could add mobile services to its package without constructing its own wireless network. In many industries resale occurs as a natural part of the development of markets. However, in telecommunications, a dominant carrier may be required by law or regulation to make its services available for resale.In p articular, a regulatory requirement may be necessary to force the underlying carrier to offer services at a sell rate. In a competitive market, however, some providers may convalesce a source of revenue in the provision of services on a wholesale basis. This often occurs when the facilities-based carrier has excess capacity on its network. In the U. S. long distance market, some carriers have constructed across the nation fiber-optic networks with the intent of offering transmission services on a wholesale basis to other carriers.Real market experience has shown that resale can spur competition. The growth of competition in the U. S. long distance market resulted from a combination of the facilities-based and resale competition models. From the early stages of long distance competition, facilities-based providers and resellers have actively competed against one another. This approach resulted in more affordable rates, new service offerings, and numerous new entrants. Despite the obvious benefits of resale, it has limitations.First of all, the reseller is limited to a greater or lesser extent by the technical features and functions of the underlying carriers network. This limits the ability of the reseller to innovate. Second, resale alone does not put competitive pressure on wholesale rates and services because the underlying carrier may not be subject to competitive pressures to innovate at the wholesale level. This means that the regulator must retain some degree of control over the pricing, terms and conditions of the wholesale offering.INTERCONNECTION, THE KEY TO COMPETITIVE SUCCESS The key to competition within telecommunications services is the ability of networks to interconnect. Interconnection allows communications to occur across networks, linking competitors so customers of different networks can communicate with one another. For competition to be thriving at maximizing consumer benefits and innovation in the telecommunications market, carriers that compete for customers must also provide competitors with access to those customers. share access to customers occurs through interconnection, and access to all customers is necessary both for successful entry and for continued competition. If the incumbent, with the extensive majority of customers, does not interconnect with new entrants, it is unlikely that the new entrants will remain economically viable. A regulatory framework is needed to aid in the transition from a monopoly environment to a competitive environment because a monopoly or dominant provider has a strategic interest to keep out or minimize competitors in its market.As a result, the monopoly or dominant provider has a strong incentive to limit interconnection. Therefore, a regulator that is independent of any operator and of inappropriate political submit should adopt rules that give new entrants bargaining strength equal to the incumbents. The price of interconnection (or transport and termination), for exam ple, could serve as a significant barrier to entry for new networks. An incumbent monopolist has an incentive to demand a high price to terminate calls originating on a new entrants network and pay nil for calls originating on its own network.In the United States, transport and termination charges are reciprocal and based on the long run incremental cost of providing the transport and termination on the incumbents network. Thus, the primary purpose of mandated interconnection is to foster a competitive environment that is fair to all competitors. Because the incumbent service provider has the broad majority of customers, a new entrant must be able to interconnect in order to provide full access to its customers. Without the ability to interconnect, new entrants would be severely restricted in their ability to compete with the incumbent.REGULATORY TOOLS FOR PROTECTING AGAINST THE EXERCISE OF MARKET POWER DURING THE TRANSITION TO COMPETITION Special problems may arise when a telecom munications carrier with monopoly power in the provision of a particular service or facility wants to offer a competitive service that is dependent upon the use of the monopoly service or facility. This may occur, for example, where competition has been introduced in the long distance and international markets but the local market remains a monopoly. The two problems are cost- shifting/cross-subsidization and discrimination.The first problem arises if the monopoly service is regulated on a rate-of-return (profit) basis. If so, there is an incentive for the carrier with monopoly power to shift costs from the competitive service to the monopoly service. Shifting costs in this manner artificially raises the price of the monopoly service and allows the carrier to charge below-cost rates for the competitive service. This results in the prisoner customers paying above- cost rates for the monopoly services and hampers the development of a viable market for the competitive services.An examp le of this situation could occur when a carrier with monopoly power in the provision of local facilities or services wants to enter the long distance market or information services market. The second problem occurs when control over an essential service or facility necessary for a competitive service enables the monopoly carrier to discriminate in favor of its own competitive offering. For example, a carrier with monopoly power in the provision of local facilities or services has the incentive to discriminate in favor of its own long distance or information service.This discrimination may manifest itself in the form of better feature interconnection or faster installation times for needed facilities or services. What follows is an overview of some of the tools that are available to policymakers and regulators to warn or prevent cost-shifting/cross-subsidization and discrimination. These tools or techniques can be used alone or in combination. The more stringent techniques may be a ppropriate when and where the threat is greatest. Less stringent techniques may be appropriate as competition takes hold in the previously monopolized market.Outright Prohibition on Providing the Competitive intersection or Service One technique for preventing a carrier with monopoly power from cross-subsidizing and discriminating in the provision of a competitive service is to prohibit the carrier from entering the competitive market. Outright suppressions have been and are being used in the United States. For example, the original agreement (Consent Decree) that led to the divestiture of the Bell Operating Companies from ATT disallow the former from certain activities, including the provision of certain long distance services and information services. at a lower place the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Bell Operating Companies are prohibited from offering long distance services and alarm services until certain conditions are met. While outright prohibition prevents cross-su bsidization and discrimination, it may also deny the public the benefits of possible economies of scale or scope that may be derived if the carrier is allowed to provide the competitive service.Outright prohibition may also deny the public the benefits of innovation that might come from the participation of the monopoly carrier in the competitive market. Price Caps for Regulated Monopoly Services The incentive to shift costs from a competitive service to a monopoly service exists under profit regulation. Under price cap regulation, the prices of the monopoly services are lie (indexed to inflation and expected productivity increases). Price cap regulation has a number of advantages, including incentives for the carrier to be more efficient.It also discourages the monopoly provider from shifting costs from the competitive activity to the monopoly activity, because if the price of the monopoly service is capped, there is no incentive to shift costs from the competitive service to the monopoly service. Separate Subsidiary Requirement Under this requirement, the carrier with monopoly power is allowed to provide the competitive service, but only through a separate ancillary or consort.The separate subsidiary requirement is combined with an obligation that the monopoly carrier treat the affiliated come with no better than it treats unaffiliated providers of the competitive service. In other words, the monopoly carrier must deal with the affiliate on an arms- length basis. The regulator has the ability to control the degree of separateness. Examples of the requirements for separateness can include requirements that the monopoly provider and its affiliate * Maintain separate books of account.* Utilize separate officers and personnel * Employ separate marketing activities * not share common equipment or facilities * Adhere to certain restrictions on information flows that would unfairly benefit the competitive affiliate In addition, a typical requirement is that if the affiliate must obtain any transmission services from the monopoly provider, it must do so on a tariffed basis. Tariffing Requirements Tariffing is a fundamental technique traditionally used to protect users (both consumers and other carriers) against discrimination.Tariffing requires the regulated monopolist to file tariffs explaining its service rates, terms and conditions with the regulatory say-so and to bewilder to those rates, terms and conditions once the tariff is filed. Through the tariff and enforcement processes, which include opportunities for public comment, the regulator has some ability to prevent cross-subsidization and discrimination. Accounting Separation A requirement to maintain separate books of account can be adopted even without the imposition of a separate subsidiary requirement.Accounting separation typically requires the regulated monopoly provider to set up and maintain separate books of account for the competitive activity and to adhere to prescribed methods of separating costs. This provides a degree of protection against cross-subsidization. Imputation Requirements An imputation requirement obligates the regulated monopolist to charge the same amount for a service or facility provided to a competitive affiliate or operation that it charges to an unaffiliated provider, and to include that amount in the price it charges for the competitive service.Service Quality Reporting Requirements A service quality reporting requirement obligates the regulated monopolist to collect date and report on the quality of the services provided to both affiliated and unaffiliated competitors. This helps regulators detect and correct discrimination in the provision of essential services or facilities to competitors. Resale Requirements As discussed earlier, a resale requirement has a number of advantages in promoting competition. Resale can also help prevent cross-subsidization.For example, where a carrier has market power in the provision of switc hed services but there is competition in the provision of private lines, the carrier may try to increase the price of the switched service in order to cross-subsidize and thus under-price its private line offering. If the carrier is required to allow the resale of the private line offerings, however, entrepreneurs could combine the private lines with their own switching, and undercut the prices of the monopolists switched service offering. This has the effect of discouraging the carrier with market power from engaging in cross-subsidization.Unbundling Requirements An unbundling requirement forces the regulated monopolist to make network elements available to competitors on an unbundled basis under rates, terms and conditions that are just, reasonable, and non-discriminatory.