The European Communications Policy Research Conference has taken place the fourth time since its founding in 1986. The main objective of all conferences held so far was to be a forum where social scientists, economists, engineers as well as lawyers come together to debate about current research in the field of European communications policy. The last three conferences were organized by the Centre for Communication and Information Studies (CCIS) in London and its director Nicholas Garnham. At the 1988 Conference all participants agreed that the conference should have a future and that in particular the original ambition of the conference should be realized more fully by making it a truly European event. In the meantime, it has been proven to be possible to host the conference on a circulating yearly basis in various European countries. The Organizing Committee for this year's conference contained members from The Netherlands, France, UK and West-Germany. This year's conference was hosted and organized by WIK and held in Kronberg, West-Germany.