THE ECONOMICAL ISSUES OF NETWORK INTERCON NECTION

The network interconnection and its regulation consist in solving the following dilemma : increase competition and preserve the universal se rvice through access Charges, which symbolizes today institutional org anization within the telecommunication industry. This paper presents s ome of the economic and social factors that drive the inter-connection policies namely ONA (open network architecture) in the United States, or ONP (open network provision) in Europe. In the first section, we l ist some social and economical issues related to open network policies . In the second section, we study the different answers brought up by the regulator through alternative interconnection price formulas. In c onclusion, we discuss the stakes and risks of interconnection, while t he technological evolution of network introduces intelligent software in switching equipement and implements the tremendous abilities of the digital broadband networks.