It would be healthy, too, if the developing world could break the rich world's monopoly on international finance.

ECONOMIST: The path ahead

Long-distance services were freed in January 2000, and the state monopoly on international telephony is to end next April.

ECONOMIST: A survey of India's economy

VSNL, which has a monopoly of international telephony until April 1st.

ECONOMIST: The state holds a sale

Not that the international media has a monopoly on distortion.

CNN: A Tale of Two Countries

NTT, Japan's domestic monopoly, to offer international calls (although it will be split into three parts, all held by a holding company).

ECONOMIST: Deregulation in Japan

Svyazinvest was originally conceived both as a holding company for the state's interests in 86 local telephone firms across Russia and as a competitor for Rostelecom, a state-run near-monopoly in long-distance and international telephony.

ECONOMIST: Russian privatisation

Most Internet traffic comes from outside India, and thus hits the bottleneck of India's publicly owned telecoms companies, which have a monopoly of long-distance telephony and international data exchange.

ECONOMIST: The wiring of India

The recent opening of international direct-dial phone services has shown how breaking a monopoly can pull prices down dramatically.

CNN: NOW, TUNG THE REFORMER?

Russia's nuclear power equipment and service export monopoly, Atomstroiexport, is building the plant under supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations' nuclear watchdog agency.

CNN: Iran to test nuclear power plant