Publication: Telecommunications is Dead, Long Live Networking : The Effect of the Information Revolution on the Telecom Industry
Date
1997-07
ISSN
Published
1997-07
Author(s)
Bond, James
Abstract
The author looks at how the drivers of
the information revolution are transforming the structure of
the telecommunications industry. The end of natural
monopoly, the breakdown of the old pricing mechanisms, the
increasing competition from new operators and new products,
and the globalization of the industry are forcing radical
change. This spells trouble for incumbent telecommunications
operators -most of whose assets are holes in the ground.
Many incumbents are responding by forming global alliances.
But this trend may have more to do with their desire to
recreate in international markets the oligarchies they are
used to at home than with the underlying market forces.
Where is the industry heading? One view of the future sees
transmission capacity and bandwidth becoming tradable
commodities, with the industry fragmenting into wholesalers
investing in capacity, brokers intermediating supply and
demand for capacity, and retailers dealing with the consumer.
Citation
“Bond, James. 1997. Telecommunications is Dead, Long Live Networking : The Effect of the Information Revolution on the Telecom Industry. Viewpoint. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/02de1e41-b5b2-5d75-b2da-aecbee33648f License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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