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Telecom Policy
- A Phone in Every Village: Taking Telecom to Rural India
Taneja, Abhinav
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- Reviews India's telecom policy and discusses guidelines and drivers for developing telecom infrastructure in India's rural areas. The author also makes recommendations for private sector investment and highlights some of the relevant technologies for telecom infrastructure build-out.
- Antidote to the Anytime, Anywhere, Anything Syndrome
Niles, John S.
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- Associate Editor John Niles summarizes and comments on a new book from authors Stephen Graham and Simon Marvin entitled Telecommunications and the City, a definitive analysis of how "electronic spaces and urban places" coexist and grow together. The authors explore the relationship between urbanization trends and the technology of telecommunications.
- Anytime, Anywhere Communication: An Update
Weinman, Richard , Ph.D.
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- This excellent essay was originally published in the 4Q94 issue of NTQ. Because the topic is still very relevant and timely to developments in the telecom industry, we decided to reprint it with some updated material. The author discusses the power and consequences of freedom of choice as our society transforms itself socially, culturally, politically, and economically from an industrial age to the age of the "telecosm," where ideas and information are distributed through cyberspace.
- Benchmarking Telecommunications in Developing Countries: A Poland Case Study
Kroder, Stanley L. , Ph.D.
Wilkinson, Gary F. , Ph.D.
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- The authors use benchmarking and diffusion analysis to describe the changes within the telecommunications industry in a particular region to draw conclusions about telecom policy. By benchmarking telecom, they can compare the focal country's telecom infrastructure -- in this case, Poland -- to that of other countries and draw conclusions concerning the effectiveness of its telecom policies. They also use a basic diffusion model to draw policy implications concerning the pace of telecommunications infrastructure development. In this study, they compare Poland's telecom development at several levels to both its Central and Eastern European neighbors and the European Union and draw some conclusions from their findings.
- Benchmarking Telecommunications in Developing Countries: A Poland Case Study (unabridged)
Kroder, Stanley L. , Ph.D.
Wilkinson, Gary F. , Ph.D.
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- Stan Kroder and Gary Wilkinson's unabridged article, only available electronically
- Building Hybrid ATM Networks
Kapoor, Sanjay
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- The author focuses on the LAN emulation specification which allows users to build hybrid networks that consist of both ATM and legacy-attached (e.g., Ethernet or Token Ring) nodes. He hopes that this article will help us better understand the benefits of LAN emulation in an ATM environment.
- Competitive Advantage on Cable's Digital Tier
Gardner, James N. , Esq.
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- On the eve of cable television's rollout of digital services, this article outlines what the author sees as the likely characteristics of competitive advantage on cable's digital tier. He begins with a discussion of some of the challenges facing the broadband communications industry as it seeks to make an historic transition to a new digital era, then sketches out six basic rules which may shape the terms of economic combat in this challenging new environment.
- Determining the Next U.S. Television Standard
Donnelly, David F. , Ph.D.
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- Provides a synopsis and analysis of recent events in the U.S. digital television standards-setting process and a set of public policy recommendations to guide the remaining proceedings.
- Digital Infrastructure: The New Public Works?
Niles, John S.
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- Describes a spectrum of activism defined by four patterns in which U.S. state governments span a continuum of approaches from inadvertent and unconscious on one end to building and operating government-owned telecommunications systems. Included in the discussion are two geographic perspectives -- statewide and community-by-community -- and a look at some of the barriers to government involvement.
- Fiber Antics: Practical Lessons in Building a Municipal Fiber Optic Network
Grant, August E. , Ph.D.
Berquist, Lon
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- Draws lessons from the city of Austin, Texas and its process to select a company to build a broadband network to provide telephone, cable TV, digital video, and digital data services. Readers may find the city's selection very interesting and insightful. It is hoped this information will be useful to companies wishing to work with city governments on advanced telecommunications networks.
- HDTV Standards Setting: Politics, Technology, and Industry
Donnelly, David F. , Ph.D.
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- The author reviews the HDTV standards process and discusses the importance of setting standards in the technological innovation process.
- If Competition Won't Build the NII, Utility Partnerships Will
Rivkin, Steven R. , Esq.
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- The author argues that, expense notwithstanding, broadband fiber is far superior to any other telecommunications medium for building a "door-to-door" national network. In his view, the local electric utility is fortuitously positioned to meet this national need for early deployment of broadband residential networks and to make competition work -- in telecommunications and information services.
- If We Build It, Will It Pay? Local Information Infrastructure and the Bottom Line
Thompson, Ruth , Ph.D.
Hunt-Coffey, Nancy
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- Impacts of the 1996 Telecom Act on Investment and Innovation
Darby, Larry F. , Ph.D.
Fuhr, Joseph P. , Jr., Ph.D.
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- Focuses on conditions conducive to investment and innovation in the telecom network sector of the economy. The authors address issues and questions related to the impact of the Telecommunications Act of 1997, and the FCC's implementation of the act on capital markets and the incentives for carriers to undertake risky investment. Includes a review of recent market performance of stocks and some recent research in progress on the sensitivity of telecom securities prices to interest rates and other factors.
- Information Infrastructure: No Easy Road to Sustainable Development
Niles, John S.
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- The author provides a provocative discussion of the changes the information infrastructure will bring to the concept of sustainable development. He presents some pros and cons and then entertains some questions that remain unanswered in his mind.
- Interconnection Rules for Wireless Telecommunications
Davis, Vivian Witkind , Ph.D.
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- Excerpted from a recently published report from the NRRI which analyzes the complex implementation issues arising from policies that attempt simultaneously to encourage new wireless entrants into local markets and be consistent, fair, and neutral.
- Opening Brazil's Telecom Markets to Competition
Sapoznik, Ralph
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- Ralph Sapoznik provides us with an overview of the events that led to the establishment of multiple Brazil-owned monopolies and the Brazilian model for privatization of those monopolies. He builds a case for privatizing telecom services in Brazil, then presents the advantages of moving to a duopoly model before opening the markets to full competition. Ralph also considers the patterns of noncompetitive behavior and discusses the potential for anti-competitive problems.
- Optimizing ISDN to Give More Capacity at Less Cost
Bryce, James Y.
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- Reviews the history of ISDN, provides some quick fundamentals, and finally addresses the problem of public switched network congestion brought on by intense Internet use. The author argues against dedicated ISDN and builds a case for Always On/Dynamic ISDN (AO/DI) Network Architecture, which creates the illusion of full-time connection while actually reducing connection times and costs to carriers and users.
- Packet Plutocracy, Data Democracy, and the Bureaucracy
Wohlstetter, John C.
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- This article examines FCC policy concerning access to advanced services that risks perpetuating a plutocracy of high-end users while delaying diffusion to the mass marketplace. John discusses how Sections 254 and 706 of the Telecom Act could potentially work at cross-purposes with each other, how the FCC interprets the interplay between these two sections, and whether this interplay could advance or delay rapid modernization of the public switched telephone network.
- Packet Policies: Petabits, Photons, Phonemes, and the Feds
Wohlstetter, John C.
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- The author provides a candid look at FCC policy-making rules on incumbent LEC interconnection, availability of unbundled network elements, and universal access. He starts the discussion with a review of packet networks, then addresses the potential harm to ISP interests that may arise from these FCC rules. Finally, he suggests how proper regulation of packet networks can help the Internet flourish.
- Positioning the Electric Utility to Build Information Infrastructure
Rivkin, Steven R. , Esq.
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- The author discusses the unique position of electric utilities to build a broadband network with capacity to support both utility and non-utility applications, such as telecommunications and information services.
- Privacy in Telecommunications: Markets, Rights, and Regulations, Part I
Noam, Eli M. , Ph.D.
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- In this first of a three-part series, the author reviews the issues of privacy in telecommunications along with some of the new and potential problems resulting from new communication and information technologies.
- Privacy in Telecommunications: Markets, Rights, and Regulations, Part II
Noam, Eli M. , Ph.D.
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- In the second installment of "Privacy in Telecommunications," the author discusses statutory and regulatory approaches to privacy problems.
- Privacy in Telecommunications: Markets, Rights, and Regulations, Part III
Noam, Eli M. , Ph.D.
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- In this third and final installment of "Privacy in Telecommunications," the author discusses markets in privacy, including a discussion of approaches to ensure privacy.
- Rebooting the Regulatory Operating System: The Computer Industry Turns on the Power
Van Tassel, Joan , Ph.D.
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- Tells the story of an extraordinary industry coming of age, its entrance into the domain of public policy and regulation, and its demand for changes in the way business-as-usual is conducted. This article begins with a description of the core beliefs and practices that are so highly regarded within the information technology (IT) pantheon. It then describes the factors that are propelling the IT companies to action and the fears this creates in traditional analog-based entertainment, consumer electronics, and telecommunications industries. From there, the article details the inter-industry conflicts that have arisen and the actions the information interests are taking to pressure the government and existing industries to meet the needs of digital technologies. Finally, after covering the scorecard of the IT efforts, the piece examines the potential for moving from conflict to collaboration between these groups.
- Recommendations for the Global Information Highway: A Matter of Standards
Krechmer, Ken
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- The author discusses telecom standards and their role in the evolution of the Global Information Highway (GIH). He argues that much remains to be done to create a broad consensus among a variety of telecom standards organizations to further define and move the early vision of the GIH toward reality.
- Regulatory Perspectives on Investment and Innovation in U.S. Telecommunications
Darby, Larry F. , Ph.D.
Fuhr, Joseph P. , Ph.D.
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- The authors report some of the results from a broader review and analysis of the impact of regulation on investment and innovation in the telecom sector. They begin with a discussion of the historic importance of infrastructure development as a goal of telecom policy, and then move to Congress' recent enlargement of that goal in the Telecom Act of 1996. They briefly review the tools available to the FCC for encouraging infrastructure and innovation and what the theoretical and empirical literature has to say about the impact of various forms of regulation on innovation and capital formation. They conclude with the implications for the development of a comprehensive and coherent policy to encourage innovation and investment in infrastructure.
- Rural Telecommunications: From Market Failure to Market Opportunity
Gillis, William , Ph.D.
McLellan, Steve
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- The authors propose principles to achieve universal service goals that will jump-start a competitive industry response to the real market opportunities that exist in rural communities while minimizing taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies.
- Smart Communities In Action
Jung, John G.
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- John Jung's companion article available only electronically.
- Smart Communities: Digitally-Inclined and Content-Rich
Jung, John G.
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- John Jung has previously written about the increasing role of telecommunications in any community's economic development strategy. In this latest NTQ article, he looks at the state of the smart community today. He argues that merely deploying additional wire does not make the community smart. The successful smart communities are those that are able to use the technologies of a knowledge-based economy to develop, market, and supply new products and services that are demanded both by other knowledge-based economies and by the developing markets moving in that direction.
- Southern African Regional Telecommunications: Addressing the Challenges of the 21st Century
Coakley, John
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- Global Perspective columnist John Coakley discusses the formidable challenge the 12 nations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) face in keeping pace with the evolving global telecommunications sector. This article discusses reform efforts currently underway in these 12 nations plus the anticipated next steps in their efforts to privatize and introduce competition. Included is a table of SADC Telecom Indicators and a sidebar describing the SADC and the Regional Telecommunications Restructuring Program objective.
- Telecommunications in China: More Than Was Bargained For?
Ure, John , Ph.D.
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- Discusses the likelihood of China opening its telecom market to foreign direct investment (FDI) for funding much-needed network expansion. Included in the discussion is a review of China's telecom revenue sources and opportunities. Also included is an insightful look into the Chinese policy-making process.
- Telecommunications' Big Idea
Niles, John S.
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- John Niles argues that the primary purpose of telecommunications for society is simply where best to go depends on what you know. In other words, telecommunications facilitates a better level and mix of proximity to the people and places we care about. He discusses the individual, organizational, and social forces that shape the choice between proximity and remote interaction, including the real costs of time and travel, internal reorganization, balkanization, interest articulation and interest aggregation.
- Telecommunications: The Seed, the Symbol, and the Focus
Jung, John G.
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- Our Global Perspective columnist considers the role of telecommunications-intensive work centers in facilitating economic regeneration within a region or community. He suggests that there are 11 basic elements that warrant consideration in any community's economic development strategy.
- Telehealth at the Crossroads
Gardner, James N. , Esq.
Barron, James H.
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- The authors summarize and analyze a report done by the Council on Competitiveness, Highway to Health: Transforming U.S. Health Care in the Information Age. This comprehensive report identifies the major roadblocks impeding the rollout of a national health information infrastructure and assesses the potential benefits that would result from their removal. The authors outline the specific barriers identified by the Council and analyze the proposed reforms.
- Telemedicine in the 1990s: Issues and Opportunities
Thomas, Bennett
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- Bennett Thomas looks at telemedicine in the 1990s, and its potential for delivering quality, cost-effective medical care. He notes that while high costs and inadequate infrastructure continue to be problems, cultural and human factors also present big obstacles to acceptance. This article includes five case studies from around the world: Newfoundland, the United States, Germany, Russia, and Third World Nations. He concludes that the keys to success are adequate funding and widespread project support from those involved.
- The Challenge of Implementing Service-Provider Portability
Rollins, John C. , MS, PE
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- Reviews one key aspect of the 1996 Telecommunications Act -- the implementation of Service Provider Portability (SPP). Included in the discussion is a review of some history associated with SPP and a look at the impacts to network switching components from a hardware and software perspective.
- The Emerging Business Economics of Telecommunications
Shaw, James K. , Ph.D.
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- Provides a definition of convergence and discusses its significance in the restructuring of the telecommunications industry. Prompted by deregulation and technological advance, the author contends that no firm can fully participate in all sectors of the industry without acquiring, merging, or cooperating with complementary firms.
- The Interactive Device for the Information Age
Miller, Avram
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- The author argues quite convincingly that it is the PC, not the TV, that will become the ubiquitous information device used by people for communicating and accessing information on the electronic superhighway of tomorrow.
- The New International Agenda of NARUC
Gardner, James N. , Esq.
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- Features an interview with Ron Eachus, a public utility commissioner from the state of Oregon and current chairman of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Ad Hoc Committee on International Relations. Mr. Eachus gives us insights into NARUC's proposal to create a permanent new committee to encourage international regulatory cooperation and participation. According to the author, NARUC will be creating a new international forum which could significantly influence the evolutionary path of telecom regulation in the United States and abroad.
- The Telecommunications Act of 1996 and the FCC's "Spin"
Wohlstetter, John C.
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- Focuses on the economic aspect of the 1996 Telecom Act embodied in interconnection and pricing policies, and the FCC's proposed order governing the prerequisite conditions of the LECs to gain entry into long distance and equipment markets. The author argues that the FCC is attempting to preempt state and legislative authority because it fears the LECs could stall interconnection at the balkanized state level more effectively than at the unitary federal level, which would be to the detriment of competition and the ability of non-LEC competitors to raise investment capital.
- Tough Times for India's Cellular Carriers
Shailaja V.R.
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- The author discusses the factors underlying the current financial difficulties for India's cellular carriers. Unrealistic projections for subscriber growth and airtime usage are the primary reasons. In this article, she examines the reasons why subscriber growth and airtime usage have not developed as expected, the government response, and what the operators are doing now to survive.
- We Have Found the Killer App--And It is Killing Us
Holliday, Clifford R.
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- Looks at the design of the telco network and the Internet, then considers the impact of the projected Internet traffic on various parts of those combined networks. The author illustrates why he thinks the Web is becoming a "real killer" and discusses some of the possible ways to reform this "felon" application.
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