Universal Service and Competition

In both Australia and the Cook Islands the impact of infrastructure competition on mandated geographically uniform pricing is being (or proposed to be) addressed with a levy. The different approaches to measuring costs and setting the levy are contrasted.

The paper proposes that a universal service levy has to be coupled with consistent access pricing to have efficient competition consistent with universal service policy. Interconnection between networks is free in the Cook Islands but the pricing of resold wholesale services should be consistent with the aims of the levy; to ensure universal service and efficient competition.

This the preprint https://deridder.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Universal-service-and-competition-.pdf

The final paper appears in the AJTDE Volume 9, Issue 3 at https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v9n3.437