Greece
Liberalization
and Deregulation
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Logos of some TV stations
in Greece
Liberalisation and deregulation
of IT-related sectors started very late in Greece. The procedure is now
nearing its end, while the public has already started to enjoy its benefits.
Liberalisation of ceratin
IT-related sectors in Greece was a quite slow procedure that nears the
end. Specifically:
-
Voice telephony (land-based) was deregulated
in January 2001.
-
Mobile telephony was deregulated in 1992.
-
Private radio and television stations were
operating since the 1980's, albeit illegally (strictly speaking). Legislation
covering their operation was enacted after the mid-1990's.
-
Computer hardware was always deregulated.
The impact of deregulation
has been felt in mobile telephony, where services are cheap and efficient.
Deregulation in land-based telecommunications is very recent and its impact
is still to be felt. As far as radio and television is concerned, deregulation
brought certain improvements, coupled with chaos. Recent attempts to put
some order (mostly in relation to band overlapping and flight safety) were
met with fierce reaction, being -derogatively - called "attempts
of regulation". Eventually, the new, "rationalised" landscape is far more
efficient and the public has approved of the measures.