ABSTRACT
Foreign impediments to free trade in international telecommunications services substantially harm the U.S. economy. These impediments take two forms: (1) anticompetitive protectionist regulation of telecommunications by foreign governments; and (2) excessive settlement rates paid to foreign governments or carriers by U.S. carriers for the completion of international calls by U.S. customers. This study provides a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the gains that would accrue to the U.S. economy if these impediments were abolished; i.e., if foreign markets were fully opened to competition by U.S. telecommunications service providers and settlement rates paid by U.S. carriers to foreign carriers were set at cost. These gains will be lost if U.S. telecommunications policymakers fail to bargain tough to remove foreign protectionist regulations and excessive settlement rates.
