ISDS Case Map
telecommunications
Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is investigating if the introduction of price caps on mobile roaming fees will have an impact on the free-trade agreement with the US and agreements with Pacific countries.
Representatives from Australia's internet industry have called for full disclosure of a proposed free trade agreement between the United States and its allies in the Pacific, concerned that the deal asks ISPs to shoulder onerous burdens around copyright infringement.
The country's cell phone market was opened to private competition with the entry into force of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the US (CAFTA) on Jan.1, 2009.
The two major areas holding up the implementation of the FTA are the liberalisation of the telecom sector and policy changes changes in the Sultanate's software policy.
Telecommunications and real estate in The Bahamas are two sectors that are, for now, off limits for negotiations under the proposed Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Community and CARIFORUM, State Minister for Finance Zhivargo Laing reported yesterday.
Costa Rica, one of the few Latin America countries still with a state-run telephone sector, is expected soon to open to big foreign players as part of a trade deal with the United States.
UNI Telecom Americas President told the Minister of Labour and Deputies from the Costa Rica National Assembly that the country should look to lessons from other free trade agreements, including from his country Mexico, where poverty had not decreased and the minimum wage was in effect lower than before the 43 trade agreements signed by Mexico.
Between 2004 and 2006, the Naimibian government made more than N$200 million in dividends alone from fixed telecommunication lines, provision of bulk communication infrastructures, and on mobile phone services. Liberalising the sector through the EPA with the EU may poke a hole to its bulging purse. Namibia is also worried that the inclusion of a New Generation clause may hamper the country's expansion programme into SADC market.
Internet firms providing music, videos and other multimedia files are watching out for the government interpretation on the free trade agreement, as its draft contains much tougher anti-piracy measures on digital content than current regulations.
Dutch investment company Saba Fakes, who claim to hold the biggest part of shares of Turkey's second big GSM operator Telsim, is preparing to file an arbitration case at International Arbitration amounting to 19 billion dollars in reparations.
