Cable TV in Austria. Between telecommunications and broadcasting

In this paper the development of the Austrian cable television (CATV) sector is discussed, focusing on its delicate interconnections with telecommunications and broadcasting, the blurring borderlines and resulting regulatory problems. The policy network is identified and recent changes in the CATV policy and strategy are highlighted, In particular, developments towards a stronger convergence within the electronic communications sector. The case study illustrates peculiarities and shortcomings of Austrian media and communications policies on the way toward a future-oriented information infrastructure.     

The endless need for regulation in telecommunication: An explanation

Telecommunication services have existed as a legal monopoly nearly throughout its entire history. In 1998, telecom market liberalisation was achieved across the European Union (EU) through the introduction of competition among telephone services. Asymmetrical obligations were deemed necessary in order to compensate the market power of the former monopolist.As the evolution of asymmetrical regulation in Spain illustrates, obligations and the telecommunications operators subject to them increased with the regulatory framework established in 2002 in the EU. This new regulatory framework may continue to expand through the inclusion of functional separation as another possible asymmetrical obligation. In short, it seems that the regulatory pressure on the telecommunications industry is increasing, despite the lapse in time since the liberalisation of the industry.In this paper, a methodology developed by the Austrian School of Economics is applied in order to explain why the telecommunication market is subject to increasing regulation in Europe, rather than deregulation, after more than 10 years of liberalisation. In particular, Mises's theory of price control is used to explain the evolution of the regulation of local loop unbundling.     

Strategic focus of incumbents in the European telecommunications industry: The cases of BT,Deutsche Telekom and KPN

This study investigates the internal and external strategic choices that telecommunications firms, operating in a dynamic network environment, make to adapt to changes and to respond quickly in order to create or to sustain their competitive advantage. In particular, in the European telecommunications industry incumbent firms have faced important challenges from new technologies, liberalization and the convergence of markets. The leading European telecommunications companies initially focused on new markets and new businesses, emphasizing their plans to become major players in relevant markets. However, after the telecommunications euphoria companies were more restrained due to their huge burden of debt and their market value. Through refocusing or restructuring, these companies have tried to streamline their businesses in order to restore their value and to improve their competitiveness. Insight into the specific strategic actions of traditional telecommunications companies in Europe to the recent developments in the industry is provided from the analysis of three leading traditional telecommunications companies: BT, Deutsche Telekom and KPN.     

Technological change and multinational growth in international telecommunications services

Revolutionary technological and institutional changes, introduced since mid-seventies, are drastically altering the quiet functioning of international telecommunications markets, traditionally characterized by a strong multilateral oligopoly. In such multilateral oligopoly firms had little scope and opportunity for any form of international growth. Since the early eighties the scope for international growth of telecommunications carriers is emerging as a critical issue in international telecommunications. The economics of multinational firms and international trade make it possible to assess the role of technology gaps in the modernization process, international telecommunications tariff asymmetries and global outsourcing as the determinants of multinational growth of telecommunications carriers and their international strategies.     

Korean telecom policy in global competition: implications for developing countries

United States efforts to open the Korean telecommunications market have been incessant and tenacious, to the extent that Korea is the only country to be twice designated by the US as a priority foreign country (PFC). Through major restructuring driven by the Korean government, the telecommunications infrastructure of Korea has been strengthened and expanded, and in the process has posed a threat to the US telecommunications industry. Thus, since the late 1980s, the Korean telecommunications industry has been monitored and threatened with trade sanctions by the United States Trade Representative, and all internal restructuring has been closely related to bilateral negotiations with the US, and multilateral negotiations in the Uruguay Round. Based on interviews with key Korean telecommunications personnel and analyses of public documents, this research examines the Korean telecommunications market, telecommunications policies relative to the US and WTO, and the recent economic crisis that has affected the stability of the industry. The paper also offers five major recommendations to government and industry policymakers, including a more active and positive stance toward liberalisation, the relinquishing by bureaucrats of their monopolistic power over policymaking, the securing of an open and transparent policymaking process, and, in relations with the US, and the mobilisation of regional and multilateral organisations to ensure fair competition in telecommunications.     

The future of telecommunications operator alliances

This paper deals with the issue of telecommunications operator alliances,and their relevance from the point ofview of globalization. Considering theimportance of symmetries in theoreticalphysics, we try to use a standard principle of symmetry, which can be simplytranslated in ‘homogenisation of socioeconomic space’, a new concept whichencompasses the convergence of social trends and economics. After studying telecommunications liberalisationin the US, in EU and in Japan, andanalysing the forces engendered by the homogenisation of socioeconomicspace, we conclude that telecommunications operators will have to reviewtheir alliances strategy to match this on-going movement.     

Regulation to deregulation: the telecommunications sector and industrialization : Evidence from the Pacific rim and basin

Evidence from the Pacific and elsewhere suggests that countries deregulate their telecommunications sectors as economic development proceeds. Theoretical considerations support this, since arguments for (against) deregulation are mostly applicable to industrialized (developing) countries. Several such arguments are surveyed. Actual instances of telecommunications deregulation in Pacific countries are also cited to confirm this hypothesis. The scarcity and simplicity of telecommunications in early development stages favour cooperative, regulated solutions; as technological progress makes services more abundant and varied, competitive, deregulated approaches become more attractive.     

Conflicting national policies: The creation of the euro and the rebalancing of telecommunications prices

Government departments have diverse interests, and on certain occasions, the need to achieve a priority objective in one department may lead to the adoption of inefficient policies in other areas, with long-lasting consequences. In this paper, we analyze the rebalancing of the telecommunications tariffs that took place in the European Union before and after the liberalization of the market in 1998. We show that the objective of satisfying the Maastricht inflation condition to allow participation in the European Monetary Union from 1999 led some national governments to block the rebalancing of telecommunications tariffs. Specifically, we demonstrate that in the years immediately before the liberalization of the telecommunications market, those countries that faced greater difficulty achieving the inflation objectives of the Maastricht Treaty reduced, rather than increased, the prices of local telephone calls and line rental. Furthermore, these countries did not intensify efforts to rebalance their tariffs after the creation of the euro. Our paper also shows that in this period the countries that diverged most from the inflation condition invested less in their telecommunications infrastructure.     

Digital divide or digital opportunity in the Mississippi Delta region of the US

This study analyzes the interdependence of telecommunications manufacturing, services, and user industries in the Mississippi Delta region of the US to understand the social and economic prospects of poorer rural areas of the US as advanced technologies rapidly proliferate. An underlying assumption is that telecommunications industries should not be viewed only by the employment they directly support; they should also be analyzed in terms of their linkages to other industries and how those linkages influence the competitiveness and growth prospects of businesses and public institutions in the region by building a capable community of technology users. The absence of leading telecom manufacturing and service firms in rural Delta counties together with low levels of connectivity suggest that digital divide problems are very real for the region. The central economic development challenge should be to ensure that rural businesses, government, health care, education, and non-profit institutions gain access to an advanced telecommunications infrastructure and that they develop the capacity to leverage this access to enhance their performance and expand their reach.     

The Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and the telecommunications industry

The Canada-US Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect on 1 January 1989, could well prove to be a breakthrough in the liberalization of trade between the two countries. This paper highlights the provisions of the FTA that indirectly or directly affect the telecommunications industry, assesses their possible impact and evaluates their probable importance to different participants in the industry. The authors make many predictions as to the effects of this agreement in terms of both telecommunications equipment and services and foresee greater competition and larger markets.     

The diffusion of interactive communication innovations and the critical mass: the adoption of telecommunications services by German banks

Interactive innovations are distinctive in that their adoption depends on the perceived number of others who have already adopted the innovation. Thus their rate of adoption does not take off in the familiar “S” shape until a critical mass of adopters has been reached. Data on the adoption of 12 telecommunications services by 392 German banks are used to explore our theoretical perspective on the role of the critical mass in the diffusion of interactive innovations. The most important obstacle to the adoption of new telecommunications services by banks is a low degree of diffusion (which suggests the general importance of the critical mass). These obstacles do not differ for the innovators and other adopter categories. The importance of direct network externalities in influencing the rate of diffusion of new telecommunications services should be determined for each new service, rather than assumed to always exists.     

Improving development assistance for telecommunications

The stable development of telecommunications in the developing countries has been hindered by a variety of difficulties. Development assistance by the developed countries and a number of organizations has an important role in helping the developing countries overcome these difficulties and promote their telecommunications development. This paper examines different kinds of development assistance and suggests that the role of the ITU will be crucial to any improvement in coordination of assistance.     

Telemedicine in the USA: An overview

The authors examine the development and use of telecommunications technology in the provision of health services and in that context discuss policy formulation relating to technological innovation in health care. In the course of their examination, they consider the nature of the major challenges facing health care delivery that are amenable to responses in telecommunications technology, present selected findings from telemedicine studies in the light of these challenges, and offer a set of policy recommendations.     

Interceptability of telecommunications: Is US and Dutch law prepared for the future?

For many decades, governments have successfully intercepted telecommunications to collect information about—potential—criminals and terrorists. A crucial part of contemporary policy is legislation that requires telecommunications providers to make their networks and services interceptable. This paper discusses two examples of interceptability legislation: the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in the US and the Telecommunications Act in the Netherlands, in order to focus on basic questions, considerations, and trade-offs relevant to designing legal interceptability laws.     

How value and trust influence loyalty in wireless telecommunications industry

Despite making significant investments in enhancing the customer service experience, long-term customer loyalty remains an elusive dream for many service providers. Particularly in the telecommunications industry, switching providers even from within continuous contract relationships is easy and companies struggle to retain their customers. Trust and value are considered cornerstones of long-term relationships, so it is perhaps surprising that previous research on how relationship age and usage level actually affect value, trust and loyalty is inconclusive. The current research is set in the telecommunications services field and draws on a large-scale survey undertaken in Finland. The findings support the contention that perceived value relates positively to loyalty, and that trust mediates that relationship. Surprisingly, in the telecommunications industry, increasing relationship age and usage level strengthen neither value and loyalty nor the links between trust and loyalty. The results may be explained by the unique characteristics of the highly competitive mobile telecommunications sector, and confirm the view that loyalty does not pay without strategies that value long-term customers and thereby build trust with new customers.     

Economic growth,telecommunications development and productivity growth of the telecommunications sector: Evidence around the world

This paper studies the relationships between economic growth, telecommunications development and productivity growth of the telecommunications sector in different countries and regions of the world. In particular, this study assesses the impact of mobile telecommunications on economic growth and telecommunications productivity. The results indicate that there is a bidirectional relationship between real gross domestic product (GDP) and telecommunications development (as measured by teledensity) for European and high-income countries. However, when the impact of mobile telecommunications development on economic growth is measured separately, the bi-directional relationship is no longer restricted to European and high-income countries. This study also finds that countries in the upper-middle income group have achieved a higher average total factor productivity (TFP) growth than other countries. Countries with competition and privatization in telecommunications have achieved a higher TFP growth than those without competition and privatization. The diffusion of mobile telecommunications services is found to be a significant factor that has improved the TFP growth of the telecommunications sector in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).     

Reducing the number of missing links: Regional cooperation and telecommunications development in southern Africa

This article traces the roots, rationale and mechanics of joint telecommunications planning within the overall economic strategy pursued by the countries of southern Africa. The close links between telecommunications and transportation in the region are highlighted and the details of the region's integrated infrastructural development policies explained. The results achieved to date are assessed. Issues facing the region as the result of current political and economic developments are also discussed, and their likely outcome presented.     

Financing and other issues in telecommunications development

Implementation of telecommunications infrastructure throughout developing countries is a prerequisite to national development. The fundamental question, argues Dr Parker, is how can developing countries pay for the capital investment in the necessary telecommunications equipment. The need is to encourage an institutional structure that can stimulate innovative, lower-cost appropriate rural telecommunications technologies without imposing excessive risks on the national telecommunications monopoly. With sucessful models to follow, it will be easier to achieve consensus between developing country borrowers, international lenders and telecommunications manufacturers.     

Telecommunications pricing and consumer expectations : The case of alternate operator services

Traditional discussions of telecommunications pricing utilize microeconomic models that are often timeless. In reality, static models of price-based decision making in telecommunications do not capture an important reality: that the price feedback is substantially delayed. Since consumers have no immediate feedback on which to base rational decisions, they must utilize their expectations of price. This article analyses the implications of this, using the alternate operator services as a discussion case. This analysis shows that few alternatives beyond price regulation exist to resolve the rampant complaints in this industry.     

Regulation and transaction costs in telecommunications: A research agenda

Antitrust and regulatory policies influence the vertical and horizontal integration of firms and the characteristics of their contractual arrangements. This paper examines the relevance of transaction cost economics for the analysis of regulatory policy in telecommunications. It explores the impact of changes in national telecommunications regulation on the level of transaction costs. After building a new theoretical framework based upon previous transaction cost contributions, the paper sets out a research agenda concerning the importance of transaction costs for antitrust and regulatory policies.