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How is the regulation of telecommunications in Europe evolving? A comparison between five countries (the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, Italy and France) shows that, although those countries have followed different paths, national situations are now relatively close in terms of the degree of competition in the telecom industry and of the regulatory system adopted in each country. New major issues are currently emerging, in particular the issues of local loop competition and of access to high speed Internet. The most plausible scenario is that telecom liberalisation and regulation in most countries will evolve in the same way as it does now in the UK.