ITEMS	JAPAN	USA	UK
C. ASSESSMENT OF SELECTED ITEMS a. ENTRY AND EXIT	Under the Telecom Business Law, the number of competitors is controlled by MPT. In the long-distance market, three NCCs were allowed to enter at the initial stage and no additional entry since then. The law allowed new competition in the local market, and subsidiaries of electric utility companies entered, but they are suffering asymmetrical interconnection with NTT local networks. Local competition has been non-existent because 1) NTT rate rebalancing (or access charges) was not carried out; 2) competition among cellular phone companies have been strictly limited; and 3) as Type 1 carriers, they are subject to rate regulation based on FDC rule, so they are not allowed to make strategic pricing. CATV service has been underdeveloped (penetration rate was 4.7% in 1994) due to strict regulations. Recently some regulatory relaxation was carried out partly due to US requests, but too late.	In the long-distance service, though concentration ratio lowered, an oligopolistic market structure centering on the AT&T continues. Local market is rapidly getting competitive with various competitive entry. In the access market, many competitive access providers (CAPs) have entered, and in exchange service markets, PBX systems compete with LEC centrex systems, and by joining PBX network to a CAP's network or using microwave facilities to connect with IXCs, business customers can achieve larger degree of LEC bypass. Private customer networks are another form of bypass, and are increasingly popular. Cellular carriers are growing rapidly, whose revenue grew by 600% from 1988 to 1993. CATV network serves more than 95% of US homes, and 77% of cable plant is capable of two-way communications. Significant economies of scope exists in the provision of telephony and distributed video services.	Duopoly period lasted from 1983 to 1991, then the domestic market was liberalized. After 1991, 59 cable companies were licensed to provide telecom services within their license areas. And by end-1994, 16 licenses were issued to public fixed link operators, including electricity companies, mobile operators, and overseas companies notably AT&T. Many others of more limited scope have been licensed, a total of 62 by Feb. 1995. However, BT is still maintaining dominant market shares.
b. PRICE AND FARE	Privatization of NTT brought about massive productivity gain, as measured by TFP.	Access service fees substantially declined due to competition. Due to competition, inter-LATA long-distance real price declined by about 60% since mid-1980s, though smaller if access charge is net out. Cost was shifted from long-distance price to access charges. To what extent price decline was caused by deregulation is unclear. The AT&T's price leadership is clear (with MCI and Sprint following rapidly). Competition has been through discounting to large customers. Many residential customers are paying full retail rates. Real price of cellular phones equipment and service has fallen by more than 50%	Under price cap system, the real cost declined by 40%. Due to rate rebalancing, the long-distance rate declined significantly, the local call rate dropped a little, and the access rate rose. These changes reflect the differing intensity of the competition BT has faced. Real telephone bill of a median household declined by 2% at a.r. 1988--93. Due to sharp job reduction, TFP grew at an annual rate of 7.2% during 1989--94. Airtime prices charged by cellular operators remained stable during the duopoly period, helped by capacity shortage. The PCN licensing in 1993 changed the situation.