Perspectives on Global Telecommunications
Perspectives on Global TelecommunicationsAccording to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the 1996/97 World Telecommunications Development Report, it would take the gift of second sight and more to predict the course of the telecommunications industry over the next few years. One thing, however, is certain: the industry in 2008 will bear little resemblance to the telecom business of today.Most, if not all, of the world's national carriers will have been fully privatized. Competition will be open and controlled by global regulation. The telephone network will carry more minutes of data than voice. All this will come about because of advances in technology, the globalization of business and the liberalization of markets. All three are contributing to a profound increase in competition in an industry which for most of its existence has enjoyed co-operation rather than rivalry. 1998 proved to be pivotal year. January 1, 1998 was the date set by the World Trade Organization for the liberalization of telecom markets throughout much of the world.
9 billion in 1990, to US$43 billion in 1992 and US$52. Philips Tarifica, the consultancy, estimates Deutsche Telekom's revenues will be cut by at least $105m in 2001 because of Internet telephony. The growth of cellular subscribers outpaced that of fixed lines at 61. Correspondingly, international telephone revenues increased steadily from US$ 32. Another 19 million were connected to mobile networks in 1996. The cost of local and long-distance calls will continue to fall as competition develops in countries where hitherto there had been none. In the US, Action Information Services calculates that voice and fax over the Internet will cost North American operators $8bn in revenues over the next four years. The industry is maturing rapidly, finding its way around the clumsy credit-checking, handset subsidies and high charges which have been a primary cause of "churn" - subscribers leaving or being excluded from the network. One essential feature of the global strategies of telecom companies is aggressive expansion and entry into new, emerging telecom markets. International telephone calls increased from less than four billion minutes in 1975 to more than 60 billion minutes in 1996, representing a growth rate of 15% per year. 3% over the previous year, compared with fixed line subscribers, at 6. It was also the date on which the European Union's leading economies had agreed to allow full competition in voice and data services. A glaring feature of the international telecom market is the growing incidence of alliances, mergers, seen as a move toward consolidation in readiness for the global deregulation.
Common topics in this essay:
North American,
Development Report,
European Union's,
Europe Zealand,
Deutsche Telekom's,
Trade Organization,
Information Services,
Philips Tarifica,
fixed lines,
internet telephony,
Union ITU,
cellular subscribers,
international telephone,
grow strongly driven,
telephone calls,
telecom markets,
grow strongly,
strongly driven,
international telephone calls,
fixed line,
|