Broadband is a key enabler of the information society, increasing productivity and competitiveness across all sectors of the economy. Unlike traditional n- rowband connections, broadband provides high speed, always-on connections to the Internet and supports innovative content and services. Direct consumer welfare gains from mass-market adoption of broadband across the EU could easily reach 50 billion euros or more per annum. This is quite apart from the more profound societal shifts that ubiquitous broadband could bring. It may allow the individual to distribute content and ideas independent of traditional media and bring together communities of interest without regard to borders. Public policy for broadband will have a big impact on whether and how quickly these bene?ts are realised. Getting policy right could bring large bene?ts for consumers, ?rms and the economy at large; getting policy wrong risks s- ?ing both the rollout of broadband and new innovative services, and thus the realisation of the EU's e-Europe vision. In this book, we focus on the residential market for broadband access in EU countries, analysing the current and prospective level of competition and dr- ing implications for public policy. A key aim is to understand better the relative importance of facilities-based and access-based provision in fostering com- tition and promoting take-up of broadband services.

Broadband is a key enabler of the information society, increasing productivity and competitiveness across all sectors of the economy. Unlike traditional n- rowband connections, broadband provides high speed, always-on connections to the Internet and supports innovative content and services. Direct consumer welfare gains from mass-market adoption of broadband across the EU could easily reach 50 billion euros or more per annum. This is quite apart from the more profound societal shifts that ubiquitous broadband could bring. It may allow the individual to distribute content and ideas independent of traditional media and bring together communities of interest without regard to borders. Public policy for broadband will have a big impact on whether and how quickly these bene?ts are realised. Getting policy right could bring large bene?ts for consumers, ?rms and the economy at large; getting policy wrong risks s- ?ing both the rollout of broadband and new innovative services, and thus the realisation of the EU's e-Europe vision. In this book, we focus on the residential market for broadband access in EU countries, analysing the current and prospective level of competition and dr- ing implications for public policy. A key aim is to understand better the relative importance of facilities-based and access-based provision in fostering com- tition and promoting take-up of broadband services.

National security decisionmaking under stress or crisis management is something with which I have had some firsthand experience over the course of my career in government service. Most relevant to the topic of this edited volume is my tour of duty as U.S. Ambassador in Beijing which began in May 1989-a month before Tiananmen of June 3 and 4. In my position as chief U.S. diplomat in China, I was an actor and an observer-along with many dedicated and resourceful U.S. Embassy personnel-to the events that constituted a case study of Chinese communist crisis management. My colleagues and I were witnesses to what, in my judgment, constituted one of the gravest crises to the communists' control of China since 1949. We engaged the Chinese leadership during this time of tension and precipitous action.

This primer highlights both the strengths and the limitations of benefit-cost analysis in the development, design, and implementation of regulatory reform.