Do special issues offer something special? An overview of research trends in Telecommunications Policy special issues

This study explores the value of special issues by analyzing the characteristics of special issues of Telecommunications Policy (TP). Specifically, this study examines the status of special issue publications, the characteristics of their articles compared with those of general issues, and the factors affecting article citations. For the analysis, all information on TP articles published from 1976 to 2018 was collected from the Scopus database. A comparative analysis as well as a negative binomial regression were conducted on papers published after 1994, when the first special issue was published. The results show that special issues are distinguished from general issues by various characteristics, such as multinational author collaboration, number of references, keywords, and funding. While general issue papers are more frequently cited in academia, special issue papers show better performance in terms of online captures and social media sharing. Moreover, the smaller number of variables affects the frequency of citations in the case of special issues, revealing that content and format are more influential than author factors.     

Low price equilibrium in multi-unit auctions: the GSM spectrum auction in Germany

The second–generation (GSM) spectrum auction in Germany is probably the most clear cut example of a low price outcome in a simultaneous ascending-bid multi-unit auction. The present paper gives an account of the events, describes the auction rules and market conditions, and provides a game theoretic explanation of low price equilibrium in simultaneous, ascending-bid multi-unit auctions. In particular, it is shown that in the unique equilibrium that survives iterated elimination of dominated strategies, the efficient allocation is reached at minimum bids.     

IntraLATA long-distance demand: carrier choice, usage demand and price elasticities

Competition in the long-distance market in the US continues to intensify; the 1996 Telecommunications Act has led to increased competition in long-distance telephony especially as the Regional Bell Operating Companies have begun to gain entry to long-haul, long-distance markets. In order to better understand the implications of having increased service offerings, models of how customers choose between carriers (and the impact of this choice on subsequent usage) will be useful. We develop the first publicly available models that simultaneously estimate choice and usage for intraLATA long-distance in the US. Utilizing a generalized Tobit model, the price responsiveness of usage and carrier choice are estimated. The results are generally consistent with expectations both in terms of theory and of practical experience in the industry.     

Texas 9-1-1: Emergency telecommunications and the genesis of surveillance infrastructure

Infrastructures of surveillance—everyday, taken-for-granted, institutionalized and technically mediated practices which identify, observe, and analyze individual actions—permeate society. These infrastructures mediate the production of social knowledge and action toward individuals. This article examines the genesis of one such infrastructure, namely the coordinated practices of identifying and locating mobile phone users during emergency (9-1-1) calls. Implementing this infrastructure has entailed creating and coordinating systems to locate wireless phones, to deliver the emergency calls to the appropriate service agency, and to deliver appropriate services to the emergency event. This implementation has occurred within historically specific regulatory, political, cultural, technological, and economic contexts and has specific implications for general surveillance practice. Focusing primarily on the state of Texas, this article examines the development of systems which store and deliver individuals’ geographic location. It argues that, despite privacy laws tightly restricting the use of information generated in the 9-1-1 process, and despite the special purpose to which the 9-1-1 system is dedicated, the wireless 9-1-1 initiative has created the infrastructure for a general purpose locational surveillance infrastructure capable both of surveilling broad patterns of activities and of responding to particular individuals. Moreover, the infrastructure is more available to police agencies and to well-established and well-funded corporate entities than to grass roots organizations. This trend is driven by the need to coordinate a national emergency response system within a fractured telecommunication industry, by the desire of marketers to understand and address their customers’ habits of mobility, and by an increasing willingness of police agencies to include widespread surveillance under the rubric of “emergency services.” Policy responses such as greater ability to opt out of the surveillance system, public oversight of emergency operations, and greater public access to the infrastructure itself might mitigate the most harmful potential social effects of this infrastructure, while distributing its benefits in a more democratic and egalitarian way.     

Telecommunications policy: The medium is the message

Reflecting on his involvement with Telecommunications Policy, since 1979, this article by one of its first editors Colin Blackman, contributes to the 40^th anniversary issue. It describes the launch of the journal, the unique nature of its publisher, IPC Science & Technology Press, the way in which the field has changed over the past four decades, and makes some personal observations about the changing nature of the world of journal publishing.     

Market share determination in marketing service industries - A demand side approach∗

A marketing service industry provides its business clients with its services such as advertising media or inbound telecommunication ( i.e. toll free 800 calls) to increase their sales. By extending Dorfman and Steiner (1954) to the world where firms obtain costly marketing services from outside specialized providers, this paper studies the market shares of providers of a marketing service from the perspective of their clients. It derives that at the optimal point for a representative client, a provider's market share equals the ratio of the profits contributed by its service to the total profits contributed by the services of all providers in the market. Under certain conditions, a provider's market share is just a function of quality-price ratios. This result should facilitate choosing a marketing service from alternative providers and analyzing market shares in marketing-service industries.     

Patent indicators for monitoring convergence - examples from NFF and ICT

The blurring of boundaries between hitherto distinct scientific disciplines, technologies or markets is a common and powerful phenomenon. Concentrating on monitoring convergence through patent indicators, we discuss convergence with examples from the area of Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (NFF)/Cosmeceuticals as well as information technologies, consumer electronics, and telecommunications (ICT). We analyze 7455 scientific and patent references on phytosterols with the aid of SciFinder Scholar and 3836 documents employing STN AnaVist. Furthermore, we test an IPC co-classification based approach on 859,469 ICT-related and 341,846 NFF-related patents. Our results show clear indications for convergence and a proof of principle for our monitoring concept. Academics may better evaluate environmental parameters, like cases of convergence, influencing companies' actions. Implications for practitioners are based on a more reliable assessment prior to the forming of strategic alliances or mergers and acquisitions. This could help avoid costly adventures such as the mergers and acquisitions seen in ICT.     

40 years on: An account of innovation in the regulation of UK telecommunications,in 3½ chapters

The past nearly 40 years have seen major developments in telecommunications networks and services, and in how they are regulated. This paper describes innovations in UK telecommunications regulation which have taken place over the period, broken down into stages, beginning with the regulation of the former monopolist by an independent regulator under a price cap, continuing the regulation first of mobile and then, under European Directives, of copper-based broadband, and ending with the diffusion of fibre networks. It is argued that a variety of changes have reduced the scope of innovation over the period, including domestic institutional reform, the limits placed on later decisions by earlier ones (path dependency), and the constraining impact of European Union law and regulation. The paper concludes with some consideration of the effects on future innovation of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.     

China’s telecommunications evolution,institutions, and policy issues on the eve of 5G: A two-decade retrospect and prospect

Over the past two decades, China’s telecommunications industry has witnessed drastic market reform, steadfast institutionalization, and volatile technological changes, which have driven exponential industry expansion. This paper offers an updated longitudinal and comprehensive review on this reform process on the eve of 5G (the fifth generation mobile communications networks). First, the paper segments the two-decade reform crusade into discernible phases, each of which is embedded with different policy drives. These reform phases are then pattern-matched against the subtleties of the overall institutional, technological, and market backdrop. A series of policy issues are identified through a systematic examination of industry phenomena over the reform course. Finally, the status of research is assessed regarding China’s telecom industry and reform, based on which, knowledge gaps are identified and future research agenda suggested. Conclusions are made regarding future reform and research imperatives. The paper advances the understanding of China’s telecom reform, development, and the underlying policy issues. It updates and expands previous works on similar topics. Overall, this study provides important theoretical, managerial, and policy implications.     

A conceptual framework for public-private interplay in the telecommunications sector

Public activity in the telecommunications industry has experienced important transformations in the last decade: “reinvolvement” in infrastructure deployment, “innovative” boosting measures, and decentralisation of some decisions. Conceptually, even more important than the measures themselves is the fact that private agents often participate in their realisation and execution. This paper reviews how justifications for public action that would apply to any economic activity area have modelled the public-private relationship in the telecommunications sector. Subsequently, it focuses on the analysis of the new spaces for public-private collaboration that are currently opening up.