The last three decades have witnessed significant European state reorganisation of established telecommunications administrations and the transformation of monopolistic markets to more open and regulated forms of competition. Prompted by structural advancements such as technological innovation, increasing demand for competitive and specialised services, together with the globalisation of business and European harmonisation and integration, these recent developments have marked a fundamental shift away from the traditional organisation of this rapidly expanding industry as a national, state controlled affair. Privatisation and Liberalisation in European Telecommunications combines a detailed, sector-specific study of comparative telecommunications regimes set in the context of the EC, with an extensive historical and empirical analysis of individual policy management and change as experienced by three diverse regulatory cultures, namely Britain, the Netherlands and France. By adopting a comprehensive analytical framework based on far-reaching literature, the author explores a wide range of theories, addressing key issues at the forefront of contemporary political and academic debate as: Do nation states matter in the globalising telecommunications industry? Does the common challenge of techno-global telecommunications restructuring elicit different national responses? What is the significance of a single-speed or multi-speed Europe in implementing telecommunications governance regimes? This book will be of interest to people studying in the fields of comparative and European business, economics and politics.