As one of the latest trends in telecommunications in many parts of the world, convergence of formerly separated industries (e.g., fixed and mobile communications networks) has the potential to further promote the development of a fair and competitive operating environment for the telecommunications industry and to improve the services offered to consumers. In this chapter from the 2006 edition of The Preston Gates Guide to Telecommunications in Asia, NERA Vice President Christian Dippon and former Vice President Dr. Timothy Tardiff provide an overview of the convergence movement in telecommunications, investigate the driving forces behind it, and study the impact of convergence on regulation and antitrust analyses.

The chapter addresses the implications of convergence on regulating retail and wholesale prices of dominant providers, and describes how certain conventional means of analyzing competitive concerns under competition laws must be refined to provide accurate assessments of the presence or absence of market power. The authors conclude that while myriad issues in the telecommunications industry will need to be revisited as a result of the effects of convergence, the most significant issues needing to be addressed include properly defining the relevant economic market for converged communication services, assessing market power in this new environment, and making specific recommendations on how to regulate the retail services of formerly dominant carriers, if at all.

Other topics addressed in The Preston Gates Guide to Telecommunications in Asia include current issues and opportunities in the industry, emerging opportunities in the IPTV market, growing copyright concerns in the telecommunications sector, and the legal and regulatory developments that affect the telecommunications industry in the US and all key Asian markets.