Abstract:
The radical transformations that have been reshaping theworld of telecommunications are uniquely decentralized and, yet, theyincreasingly provide the lifeblood of our new societies. In this paper we studythe internet as a critical infrastructure whose efficiency depends upon theproper and efficient functioning of its market structure. Our objective is not topropose the role governments should play. It is not to suggest regulation. Itis exclusively to highlight the vulnerability of the economy to the lack ofcompetition and associated problems due to inefficient market structures.The analysis in this paper is buttressed by the unique in-depth empiricalresearch one of the authors has already carried out on internet in SouthAmerica, covering many of its national idiosyncrasies, and its various formsof governance. South America is particularly interesting in view of thedifferent ways in which networks came to interconnect with one another andthe diversity of governance one finds at points of internet traffic exchange.This subject will form the basis for further work.
