Beyond Competition: The Future of Telecommunications

Book Description

The convergence of telecommunications, mass media and computer technologies has brought spectacular developments of ubiquitous intelligent interconnected systems. In the course of these evolutionary changes, debate and policy has swung again towards privatization, deregulation and increased reliance upon competition. Nevertheless, the underlying and powerful role of new information continues to bring so much restructuring and organizational change, that a reassessment of ideas about competition in this dynamic context, is essential. The aim of this volume is to provide an update of research and policy debates in this important field. An international perspective is provided with contributions from academic, business and governmental communities. The volume will be invaluable to researchers in telecommunications and information activities; decision-makers in industry, government and regulatory fields; consultants; and information service providers.

The Mobile Revolution: The Making of Mobile Services Worldwide

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The Mobile Revolution: The Making of Mobile Services Worldwide
Dan Steinbock
Manufacturer: Kogan Page
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0749448504

Book Description

The Mobile Revolution tells the story of the making of mobile markets and services worldwide, exploring the mobilization that is transforming how we live, work and play. The first comprehensive account of the explosion of mobile services (rich voice, internet, messaging, content), from multimedia messaging and camera phones to location-based services and mobile phone television, it tells the fascinating story of these products and services in the pioneering markets of Europe, the United States and the Asia-Pacific, particularly Japan, China and South Korea. This book is essential reading for managers and marketers who must now mobilize their products, servi ces and companies. It looks in depth at the impact of mobility in consumer and business markets, strategy, and across all industries and shows how marketing innovation has been brought about by developments in mobile technologies.

Competition and Chaos: U.S. Telecommunications Since the 1996 Telecom Act

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Not Telecom For Dummies, That's For Sure
I wish I'd written this

Competition and Chaos: U.S. Telecommunications Since the 1996 Telecom Act
Robert W. Crandall
Manufacturer: Brookings Institution Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0815716176

Book Description

When Congress passed the 1996 Telecommunications Act, legislators anticipated that the reduced regulatory barriers would lead to increased competition among U.S. telecommunications providers, and, in turn, the new competition would drive innovation and reap economic benefits for both American consumers and telecommunications providers. But the legislation had a markedly different impact. While many of the more aggressive providers enjoyed sharp short-term rises in stock market values, they soon faced sudden collapse, leaving consumers with little or no long-term benefit.

In Competition and Chaos, Robert W. Crandall analyzes the impact of the 1996 act on economic welfare in the United States. He also examines how the act and its antecedents have affected the major telecommunications providers, some of whom are now a threatened species, caught in a downward spiral of declining prices and substantial losses. In the wake of the 2001-02 telecom stock market collapse, the industry is preparing for an intense battle for market share among three sets of surviving carriers: the wireless companies, the local (largely Bell) telephone companies, and the major cable television operators. None is assured a clear path to dominance in the drive to attract customers to an expanding array of voice, data and audio services. Although the telecom stock market collapse is now history and the survivors are investing once again, Crandall concludes that regulators failed to adapt to the chaos to which they contributed until the courts forced them to do so.

Customer Reviews:

Not Telecom For Dummies, That's For Sure.......2006-09-21

While there can be little doubt the book Competition and Chaos is a pro-telecom white paper, albeit an unusually technical one, it makes a worthy case for telecom deregulation in general by pointing out the flaws in our current approach. My only problems with the book are a discussion of wireline shrinkage that seems incomplete, and the author's problematic critique of net neutrality.

In the interest of full disclosure, I admit to working for a telco, one named frequently in the book. So at least to some degree I should be considered a friendly reviewer, in that I agree with his thesis and hope the regulatory environment can sort itself out sometime before I retire. On the other hand, I'm not in a position to reap a huge windfall if such a change were to come to pass, which is another way of saying I'm firmly (or not) embedded in the bowels of lower management. One might say I want to develop a stronger argument, which I believe is necessary to the eventual success of telecom reform.

The prospective reader should be reminded that the book is a economic analysis of recent political policy, written by an economist, so it has a good measure of economic jargon (such as price elasticity) and some telecom jargon (such as UNE-P). Some of the jargon is explained, others not so much. Having read a few white papers in the past few years, it was refreshing to see one with actual equations instead of opinion polls. And of course, it has a plethora of citations, as would be expected of a scholar. I had fun researching the meaning of the Herfindahl-Hirschman index of concentration - rather like hunting for Easter eggs.

Now on to the areas suitable for improvement.

One analysis that could have stood an opinion poll or two is the author's treatment of the overall decline in wireline voice where the author guesses the reason is because of broadband and/or wireless cannibalization (the term is appropriate, if a bit loose, for wireless as most of them are affiliated with the telcos). That is probably true, but why? Though the book is an economic treatment, not a marketing study, economics is the study of incentives, and the motives behind the migration may be less obvious than the author believes.

But my quibble with information gaps in the wireline voice problem doesn't compare with the issues I have with the author's treatment of network ownership / network neutrality. His strident property-rights argument and curious analogy to automobiles are far from convincing; on the contrary, they may provide net neutrality partisans with more mojo in their quest to raise the specter of evil telcos murdering the "free" Internet such as many have accused Microsoft of doing to the PC. I refer the reader to the last paragraph on p. 125, which reads in part, "[Nondiscriminatory access] would prevent network operators from developing their own content and denying access to competitive applications and content [emphasis added]." So in effect, the author argues for the transformation of netops from utilities to broadcasters.

Rhetorical question -- can anyone tell me why the Internet became so popular? Was it so the cheapskates of the world could save money on stamps? Was it so people unlucky enough to live in sexually inhibited areas could have access to porn? Maybe. But a broader way of describing the motivator is the word choice, i.e. less at the mercy of broadcasters' needs. And an Internet where only netop-developed or approved content can roam will be a world of fewer, not more, choices.

What's funny is that I support property rights, and furthermore, I've yet to hear of any plans to replace eBay with "BellBay". But one cannot help but suspect the worst, especially in light of recent revelations by some telcos to "reclaim" the DSL Universal Service Fee, which are supposed to be regulatory "pass-throughs".

I find more troublesome the author's car analogy in the same paragraph. It reads, "In an earlier era, this would have been similar to requiring Henry Ford, who had more than 60 percent of the U.S. automobile market in the early 1920s, from changing the design of his Ford platforms to adopt new technologies and deny his competitors the ability to install their components on his cars..."

While it is easy to imagine the phone network -- or any network -- as a platform, a more accurate analogy would have been to say, "If Ford owned 60 percent of the road miles, `road neutrality' legislation would have required him to allow non-Ford automobiles to drive on his roads, without either an intentional performance or financial penalty." The problem with such an analogy is obvious - it would not have merely undermined the network ownership argument, but obliterated it completely.

What is certain that if a person generally supportive of telecom reform and of modest skill in rhetoric can spot weaknesses such as described, no doubt the conspiracy theorists and populists can as well.

Going back to the utility-broadcaster comparison for a moment, in the final chapter, the author argues a case for vertical integration as a means to ensure the financial returns sufficient to justify new investment. Merely pushing more bits faster will no longer appease the financial markets. But one must wonder, how much content a local TV station, a major network, or a cable company develops in-house? Most content is developed by production companies and sold to the highest bidder. And while the "free" Internet has allowed a lot of content to blossom without additional benefit to the netops, it has also seen a lot more failures that haven't cost the netops a penny -- other than maybe uncollected service charges. Content development is at least as risky as network development, especially, as the author claims, if providers have limited market power; how many new TV shows last beyond the first season or two?

The author has presented a sober study of the trends developing in telecom since the passage of Telecom '96. His thesis that political meddling in the telecom marketplace has done more harm than good I find laudable, and most of the chapters present conclusions which are at least plausible. His training as an economist, and the worldview inherent in such training, lends weight to his analysis but limits the scope of discussion and therefore its' usefulness to the ongoing political debate. After all, if macroeconomics were everything, would we have a minimum wage? Finally, his argument for network ownership and supporting analogy could use refinement. He may have another crack at it if Congress passes COPE '06 or some variant thereof.

I wish I'd written this.......2005-08-02

This book on U.S. telecommunications policy over the last ten years is a jewel of clarity. It cuts through the endless debates and draws sharp, clear, and actionable conclusions. Unfortunately, because telecommunications policy is pretty abstruse stuff, not many readers will be all that interested, or stick with the book. For those that do, they will be well rewarded. One word of warning: Robert Crandall does a lot of consulting for the RBOCs, and as a result he is occasionally biased. But over all he manages to put his biases aside, and produce a fair assessment.

CLEC: An Insiders Look at the Rise and Fall of Competition in the Local Exchange Competition

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Telecom Style
cheaper than buying CLEC stock
An excellent documentary on the CLEC industry.

CLEC: An Insiders Look at the Rise and Fall of Competition in the Local Exchange Competition
Martin F. McDermott
Manufacturer: Penobscot Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0897254708

Book Description

CLEC is an insider's view of the rise and fall of competition in the local exchange business. Competition was legislated by Congress and funded by Wall Street. The years from 1996 to 2000 saw the creation of more than 250 facilities based companies operating in more than 100 American cities. Spending more than $300 billion in capital, by the end of 2000, these companies had combined revenues of $44 billion and served more than 16 million access lines in more than 100 cities. The future looked bright.

Suddenly, what looked like such a promising business became a money pit. In the blink of an eye, investors lost confidence. CLEC networks were producing revenue but no profits. Companies couldn't afford to pay the interest on their notes. Pundits were saying that management didn't know what it was doing. Worse, it looked as if the industry was falling apart. Was it all managements' fault?

CLEC begins with the industry's history and the part that Congress played in legislating competition. It then looks at the role that the investment community played by funding all sorts of business plans. Finally, it details the inside operations of CLEC companies as they struggled first to build their networks, then to operate them and finally their struggle to survive in order to answer the question of whether competition in telecommunications is going to be able to survive.

Customer Reviews:

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Telecom Style.......2003-04-05

McDermott documents his first hand experiences within the CLEC industry, illustrating the good, the bad, and the ugly. From the enthusiasm created by Congress and the Telecom Act of 1996, to the poor execution by Executives, McDermott paints a clear picture of the rise and fall of the CLEC industry. This book provides insight into the obstacles that CLECs encountered on a daily basis. Obstacles included pressure from WallStreet, competitiion against the RBOC's and other CLEC's, flawed business plans, and their inability to execute.

The book also points out some of the things CLECs did as well. However, based on the current telecom market that has sent many of these companies packing and their shareholders broke, I found it to be extremely informative on why and how it failed so bad. This book is not for everyone, it is for persons who are directly or indirectly tied to the telecom and datacom industry or have plans to be. McDermott's style is smooth and the book flows well.

Well worth the $...

cheaper than buying CLEC stock.......2002-11-08

Buying this book is a lot like buying stock in a CLEC - but you will lose less money! For $, you get 325 pages with no references or documentation of any kind. McDermott makes myriad assertions as with RBOC use of the regulatory process: "They know how best to use it while their competitors looked at the process as a necessary nuisance to be put up with in order for them to get into business." No substantiation needed - this is not an academic treatise but a statement of "truth" from somebody who has been there. The only remaining question is whether this book offers true insight to the CLEC industry and how it thinks of itself, or if this book is merely McDermott's attempt to capitalize on the fact that he was an important player in the industry. In the end, it is a lot like buying CLEC stock: is the business case real or hype?

An excellent documentary on the CLEC industry........2002-10-04

As the title suggests, the author gives a first hand view of life in a CLEC: The unbridled optimism created by the telecom act of 1996, the management decisions, underestimations, and consequences. His bias towards CLECs shows through, and readers may draw different conclusions about CLEC management teams. However, the book contains a wealth of information about the industry and a first hand account of the challenges faced by competitive local exchange carriers. The author explains the pressure applied by investors, management oversights, business plans, competitive interactions, and customer expectations. He also contrasts the local exchange market to the deregulation of the long distance market several years earlier. The book gives information on pricing and the cost of network deployment that is not widely circulated. The writing style flows well and is easy to stay with.
This is invaluable information to anyone in telecommunications, and is also a great case study for business students in general.

Intellectual Property Rights, External Effects and Anti-Trust Law: Leveraging IPRs in the Communications Industry

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Intellectual Property Rights, External Effects and Anti-Trust Law: Leveraging IPRs in the Communications Industry
Ilkka Rahnasto
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0199254281

Book Description

The interplay between intellectual property protection and antitrust rules in the communications industry is examined in this timely book, with particular focus upon the role of externalities in that interplay. There is substantial discussion of the innovation process and of how companies leverage their intellectual property rights in order to obtain market leadership. Particular emphasis is also placed upon how legal doctrines have developed to cope with these issues, and related economic analysis is also discussed.

Marketing Telecommunications Services : New Approaches for a Changing Environment (Artech House Telecommunications Library)

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A book anyone in a new deregulated market should read !!!

Marketing Telecommunications Services : New Approaches for a Changing Environment (Artech House Telecommunications Library)
Karen G. Strouse
Manufacturer: Artech House Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Customer-Centered: Telecommunications Services Marketing (Artech House Telecommunications Library)

ASIN: 158053015X

Download Description

Whether you?re a novice or veteran marketing professional, this first-of-its-kind resource provides valuable guidance for developing effective marketing strategies, improving market readiness, and increasing profitability in a rapidly expanding marketplace. You?ll get comprehensive coverage of fundamental marketing concepts, competitive intelligence and insight on the marketing activities of telecommunications carriers, descriptions of the changes caused by deregulation, and implementation instructions for marketing strategies in channel selection, entry, market segmentation, pricing, and more. Marketing Telecommunications Services identifies customer demands for tailored communications service and details the challenges spurred by intense price competition, significant churn, and constant technological change. It helps measure your readiness to operate effectively in a fully competitive market and provides in-depth coverage of sophisticated computer technologies available to help you implement powerful marketing strategies.

Customer Reviews:

A book anyone in a new deregulated market should read !!!.......1999-08-19

Great analysis of the telecommunications industry in the new deregulated markets ! good ideas and many shared experiences from the companies that have gone thru this before. One of the few specialized books on marketing ! Would love to contact the author (her e-mail address in the book does not work)

Telecommunication Policy for the Information Age: From Monopoly to Competition

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Telecommunications Regulation - history, theory, & practice

Telecommunication Policy for the Information Age: From Monopoly to Competition
Gerald W. Brock
Manufacturer: Harvard University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0674873262

Book Description

Gerald Brock develops a new theory of decentralized public decisionmaking and uses it to clarify the dramatic changes that have transformed the telecommunication industry from a heavily regulated monopoly to a set of market-oriented firms. He demonstrates how the decentralized decisionmaking process--whose apparent element of chaos has so often invited criticism--has actually made the United States a world leader in reforming telecommunication policy.

Customer Reviews:

Telecommunications Regulation - history, theory, & practice.......2001-01-22

First, note that the rapid change of telecommunications technology and regulations makes it virtually impossible to keep a book fully up-to-date. Brock's book brings us up to 1994, and there have been significant changes since then. This immediately noticeable shortcoming is true with every book in this field, so we will not address it further.

Brock paints a very readable and generally clear idea of telecommunications regulation, starting with a few chapters on theory. The philosophical underpinnings of regulation are of some interest, but we know that regulators do not study philosophy before making decisions. The concept that the U.S. system is set up so that there are many "regulators" often acting at cross purposes is an amazing one, given the incredible success of telecommunications in the U.S. The idea that such a successful system could appear so chaotic is worth noting, and Brock is the first author I have seen that praises the current system.

Brock's presentation of history to about 1980 is just wonderful. You will gain a real feeling for why the U.S. system operates the way it does.

Information after 1980 is not presented as clearly. In part, I think this is because Brock personally remembers what happened then, and has difficulty editing out the less significant events of that period.

Overall, the reader is advised to develop a timeline of events to reduce confusion. Brock should include one, but does not.

Brock also addresses in a very limited fashion how things should work with data traffic greater than voice traffic. It was easier to get away with that in 1994 when data traffic was still much less than voice traffic, but impossible to avoid seven years later in 2001.

Book Description

The essays in this important collection reveal that the key to success for companies competing in the new digital world will not be to engineer big technological breakthroughs but rather to develop new products and services by creatively combining new and existing technologies with innovative managerial approaches.

The book features contributions from scholars at institutions including the Harvard Business School, Stanford, and MIT as well as senior managers at Intel, IBM, and Mercer Management Consulting. Drawing lessons from their own and other leading companies of the information age, including Silicon Graphics, Sun Microsystems, and Microsoft, the authors explore the dynamics of the rapidly evolving digital environment.

Book Description

As the Internet revolution continues to unfold and transform telecommunications, pressure is building for faster, less expensive, and more widely accessible broadband service. Such a development would facilitate improved and less expensive traditional applications such as voice telephony and web browsing. It would also enable new and useful applications such as Internet-based television, videoconferencing, and software distribution. Broadband has great potential to improve efficiency and productivity, even to improve national security in some cases. Broadband service and affordability, however, have consistently lagged well behind demand and progress in information technology, with damaging results. The Internet revolution remains incomplete and threatens to stagnate if the situation continues.

In The Broadband Problem, economist and technology entrepreneur Charles H. Ferguson explains the causes and ramifications of this damaging bottleneck, and he offers suggestions on improving the current state of affairs. He asserts that current telecommunications law and policy have not provided sufficient levels of new entry, competition, and innovation in the local telecom market. The continuing dominance of ILECs (incumbent local exchange carriers) in that market impedes the healthy, and much-needed, development of an efficient broadband market. The result of these policy and market failures is inadequate technological progress, innovation, and productivity in advanced Internet services and telecommunication services generally.

Book Description

This book provides vital information on the business, technical, legal and practical considerations in the 'New Telecom World Order'. The book offers a complete overview of the new technologies and marketing methods that new competitors are using around t

The book offers a complete overview of the new technologies and marketing methods that telecom entrepreneurs are using worldwide. It focuses on the dominant telecom giants and the nimble upstarts who are giving them a run for the money. The book gives practical advice on opportunities to start a new telecom company and make it successful by providing compelling services and competitive prices.

Customer Reviews:

Clear and concise.......2002-10-14

Retske is clearly very experienced in telecommunications technology and most aspects of the strategic market for voice services. He has an interesting mix of technical and business perspective. Althought the title is daunting, the book is well written and is a pleasure to read.

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