Study On The Regulatory Regime Of Telecommunications Of Macao

Since 1981, the telecommunications sector of Macao has gone through stages of privatization, monopoly and partial liberalization, during which the objects faced by the telecommunications regulatory agency have also changed from single to multiple entities. Subsequent to the establishment of the Office for the Development of Telecommunications and Information Technology in year 2000, the problems of deficiency on human resources, heavy workload and incompatibility of legislation still exist. Although under these unfavorable conditions, the problems of interconnection, number portability etc. could still be resolved in a reasonable timeframe, helping the competition proceed in an orderly fashion. At present, with the continuous emergence of new technology and services, convergence of telecommunications, Internet and broadcasting services is deemed to be the trend of development, which causes a serious challenge and great pressure to the regulatory agency.This thesis in the first place describes the situation of development of telecommunications sector of Macao, in which some explanations are given in relation to the posterior telecommunications sector reform driven by the increasing demand in the society of the middle and late 70's of last century. At the same time, it also describes the emerging changes in telecommunications regulation and in various angles analyzes the causes of major problems prevailing in telecommunications regulation. In order to resolve the relevant problems, an appropriate starting point is to learn from the modes and experiences in regulation of other countries. In the thesis, study is also carried out on the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Japan, which are comparatively more mature in terms of telecommunications sector reform and development, especially on the corresponding evolution of their regulatory regimes and legislative measures. Having summed up the relevant experiences and put them in the context of Macao, the measures of improving the telecommunications regulation of Macao are suggested, in which the emphasis is placed on the necessity of adopting dynamic regulation when facing the trend of new development and the importance of cultivating the capability of regulatory personnel in promoting the sustainable development of the telecommunications market.