TELECOMMUNICATIONS-Old Habits

Old Habits WITH the opening up of economic activities such as telecommunications and power generation, hitherto entirely or substantially the preserve of the public sector or government departments even, it has become necessary to set up new agencies to decide on matters such as pricing (and hopefully quality) of the services and to arbitrate in the event of disputes. To be effective these agencies have to be independent of the government and be seen to be so. But old habits die hard and the government has not been able to resist the urge to pack the ones to be established so far with retired officials and the like. Even so the erstwhile government monopolies are already finding the existence of these bodies irksome, unused as they are to their decisions and actions being questioned and judged. An early target of such wrath, though in very different circumstances, was the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The department of atomic energy had evidently viewed the creation of the Board as essentially a benign public- relations operation and so was quite put out to find the Board taking its charter rather more seriously.