Competition and liberalization policies and regulations for telecommunications industries in China and Pakistan: a comparative analysis

The economic growth of the country is linked with the development of the telecommunications industry. While most of the developed countries already have liberalized their telecom markets for open competition during 1980s and 1990s, this process is still under progress in developing countries of the world. The approach varies vastly among different countries due to different social and economic conditions, however, countries can learn from each other's experiences to review their policies to get the objectives of full competition, universal service, protection of consumer interests, and deployment of advanced services. This paper compares the different policies for the development of telecommunications industries in China and Pakistan and also makes some suggestions for the forthcoming converged world from the experience of developed countries. The main focus of this paper is on competition and liberalization policies. Pakistan has taken revolutionary steps to bring competition to its telecom industry by adopting the approach of full market liberalization as compared with China's gradual and controlled approach. New entry in Pakistan has been facilitated by all regulatory and policy means to attract private sector investment. China is trying to protect government-owned telecom operators by restricting entry in this sector due to concerns of Universal Service and foreign companies' dominance of telecom industry. China is trying for fair domestic competition while Pakistan has adopted the approach of free competition. It is obvious from some economic and telecom indicators that telecom industry is exponentially growing after the liberalization and de-regularization of telecom industry in Pakistan The establishment of an independent regulator and the early promulgation of long-awaited Telecom Law are must for China. Both of these countries need more expertise and competency to accommodate convergence in reforms to facilitate the penetration of innovative technologies and services in their telecom industries.