The Maltese mobile telephony sector : a case of collusive or non-collusive oligopoly or otherwise?

Abstract

An oligopoly is a market structure dominated by a few large sellers where the degree of market concentration is very high. The key features of oligopolistic markets are a few firms selling similar products, each firm produces branded products, there are likely to be significant barriers to entry which allows firms to make supernormal profits and interdependence between competing firms. As a result of the interdependence among the firms within the industry, some firms would choose the option of collusion in order to secure supernormal profits. Collusion amongst firms is seen as a negative effect of oligopolies, thus, regulatory bodies keep a close eye on these types of markets. The main objectives of this dissertation are listed in sub-section 1.2, with specific reference to collusive and non-collusive oligopoly. This dissertation includes a literature review which outlined all the theory of oligopolistic markets and also a brief overview of the Maltese and International mobile telephony markets. In addition to all of the above mentioned literature, a survey was conducted in order to get the opinions of individuals within the field of mobile telephony and, the results· were also reported in this dissertation.