An ITU report on trade in telecommunications last year noted that in emerging markets, international traffic per subscriber grew by 11.7 percent per year from 1990 to 1995 where competition was allowed, compared with just 5.2 percent per year where there was a monopoly. The same effect, to a lesser extent, was found in developed markets. But the true impact of the agreement will depend on its implementation. It is, inevitably, a complex deal with many parties involved, each of whose economies, telecoms infrastructures and liberalization processes are at different stages. More than 40 countries made reference to or included in their commitments the Reference Paper on Regulatory Principles, a framework document for regulating the dominant carrier in each country, obliging them to give new entrants access to the established network at nondiscriminatory prices.
All new carriers rely on the established network, at least at the beginning.
The paper also contained many broader principles, such as removing barriers to entry for new carriers. Time scales for implementation as well as the degree and scope of competition to be instated vary, too. Some Asian countries agreed to open up their markets as late as 2010. Naturally, over such a long time span, much can happen. A number of countries that participated in the GATT rounds and even the WTO talks, for a variety of reasons, were not able to commit themselves in February 1997.