Overview
The literature on the subject of networks, on their regulation and competition through them distinguishes between sectors and circumstances in which the network is uni-directional (the electricity flowing from the generator to the consumer) and sectors and circumstances in which the network is bi-directional (that connects different users). This typically took place in areas that are structurally bi-directional, such as telecommunications or transport, but also in some circumstances pertinent to the energy sector (in which bi-directional flows take place for example with reference to networks that connect different countries or in the presence of hubs which connect several points that can be picking and placement depending on the local difference between demand and supply).
The main objective of the research was to analyse the actual modalities of competition in the transports and telecommunication sectors, with a theoretical (and partly empirical) analysis that is however closely related to the characteristics of network industries characterized by two-way flows.
Concerning local projects, some of the main issues to be analysed were:
- Analysis of contracts that characterized the provision of infrastructure in these areas;
- The exchange of information between companies operating in network industries;
- Analysis of regulations specifically related to the sectors of telecommunications and transport;
- Analysis of interconnection tariffs in telecommunications with a characterization of the interaction between callers and receivers;
- Effects of changes in the regulatory system on the efficiency of transport companies;
- Intermodal competition and investment in the rail sector;
- Analysis of best practices of allocation of licenses for fields in two-way network;
- Analysis of the organizational structure and governance of these networks.