Pergamon S0308-5961(96)00008-0 Telecommunications Policy, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 273-289, 1996 Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Lid Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0308-5961/96 $15.00 + 0.00 The new telecommunications in the Netherlands: strategy, policy and regulation Robin Mansell, Andrew Davies and Willem Hulsink This paper investigates the policy en- vironment that will be needed to achieve the Dutch government's goal of acquiring a leading position in Europe in the development of the electronic superhighways. The paper summarizes the results of a study commiseloned by the Rathenau Institute, which provides discussion papers for the Dutch perlla- merit. The key findings are that com- panies in the telecommunications, broadcsetlng, computing and software, and information-producing sectors are competing for three types of control. These relate to access to networks, access to the customer and access to market Information. The Dutch govern- ment needs to give more attention to policy and regulatory initiatives to address these developments. For ex- ample, the Dutch government could take the lead in Europe by eatablishlng an Integrated regulatory Inatitutlon that deals with Information 'cerrlege' and 'content' issues. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd Robin Mansell is Professor of Information and Communication Technology Policy and may be contacted at Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, Man- tell Building, Brighton BN1 9RF, UK (Tel: +44 01273 686758; fax: +44 01273 continued on page 274 Introduction Governments around the world are adopting policies and regulations for the future information superhighways. In Action Programme--From Metaphor to Action, 1 an attempt is made to stimulate activity and to ensure that Dutch companies are in a leading position in Europe. A central problem for government policy in this area is to navigate a route between the Scylla of monopoly power, network integration and political interference, and the Charybdis of competition, network fragmentation and government indifference to social consequences. This article highlights the results of a study commissioned by The Rathenau Institute to investigate this problem in the context of the Dutch telecommunication environment. 2 The study focused on the changing nature of control over the ownership, operation, and use of the telecommunication infrastructure and services; and the implications of these changes for policy and regulation. The study was undertaken on a relatively small scale between April and August 1995. It was based on a review of developments in the Dutch telecommunication market and interviews with key players in the public and private sectors, including infrastructure providers, equip- ment manufacturers, service providers, users, regulators and policy- makers, multimedia and software developers and worker representa- tives. 3 The objective was to clarify the major issues that confront policy- makers and regulators in the face of rapid technical innovation, the convergence of telecommunication, computing and audio-visual markets, and the introduction of competition in the telecommunication market. 273