ABSTRACT

In the 1980s Germany was no driving force concerning deregulation and liberalisation of the telecommunications market. As in some other countries, a corporatist complex of actors from business, politics and the trade unions tried to obstruct any reform. Originally, it was the PTT, a powerful postal union, and a handful of companies producing technical equipment for the telecommunication network who in effect ‘joined forces’ to oppose a fast transition from the old order of a public telecommunications monopoly to a competitive mode of service provision through private firms (Schneider and Werle 1991; Schmidt 1991).