Information and communication technology and related electronic communications market are one of the most dynamic economic sectors. Regulatory mechanisms direct the development of the electronic communications market in order to achieve the availability of services in line with the needs and possibilities of citizens, the economy, and society as a whole, and investing in new technologies that will continuously pursue it. The European Union applies and continuously develops a common regulatory framework for electronic communications, which includes general and specific measures to promote and protect competition of information and communication services providers.

Benefits of the study

There is a need in the labor market in the public and private sectors in the field of electronic communications for professionals who would with their primary knowledge in the field of technical, economic or legal science, possess the knowledge required for specific issues of market regulation, independently and in collaboration with other professionals in the sector of electronic communications.

There is a demand for such jobs in:

• national regulatory authorities (in Republic of Croatia: Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries),
• agencies dealing with market competition (in Republic of Croatia: Croatian Competition Agency) and personal data protection (in Republic of Croatia: Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency),
• state ministries (in Republic of Croatia: Ministry of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure),
• service providers in the electronic communications market and telecommunications industry.

As the legal, economic, and technological frameworks that underpin electronic communications market are common to all European countries, there is the need for the same kind of jobs both on a regional and wider levels as well.

Interdisciplinary approach

Modern scientific knowledge and past experiences in the development of the telecommunications market and electronic communications market in general, show that only an interdisciplinary approach to specialized postgraduate education can help students acquire the skills necessary to solve complex regulatory issues. These are skills and knowledge about legal basis and the processes of market regulation, the economics of investment and regulatory accounting, and technological modeling of communication networks and information services.