Handbook of Telecommunications Economics
Technology Evolution and the Internet
- 1st Edition, Volume 2 - December 9, 2005
- Imprint: North Holland
- Editors: S. Majumdar, M. Cave, I. Vogelsang
- Language: English
- eBook ISBN:9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 4 6 0 1 4 - 7
The objective of the second volume of the Handbook of Telecommunications Economics is to highlight the economic aspects of the evolution of communications technologies beyond the… Read more
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Request a sales quoteThe objective of the second volume of the Handbook of Telecommunications Economics is to highlight the economic aspects of the evolution of communications technologies beyond the basic fixed-line telephony infrastructure that was covered in Volume 1. In that book, structural, regulatory and competition policy issues with respect to a well-known technology were covered. Yet, technological options have increased in a quantum manner. Fuelled by the creativity of entrepreneurs and policy-makers world wide, it is safe to infer that a process of creative destruction is well underway. Volume 2 covers the major technological developments and tracks the changes in these developments linking them to the ways that both communications can take place and that institutions and policies can evolve. Written by world leading scholars in a manner that will be appreciated by a wide audience of academics and professionals, the fifteen detailed reviews that make up this book provide an academic perspective on these contemporary changes.
Network Technologists
Chapter 1. Technology evolution and the internet: Introduction (M. Cave, S. Majumdar, I. Vogelsang).
1. Introduction.
2. Evolution of major alternatives to traditional telephone networks.
3. The Internet.
4. Institutional considerations.
5. Conclusion.
Section I - Evolution of major alternatives to traditional telephone networks.
Chapter 2. Emerging network technologies (D.N. Hatfield, B.M. Mitchell, P. Srinagesh).
1. Introduction.
2. Voice, data, and entertainment video signals.
3. Traditional circuit-switched wireline architecture: Limitations in the face of new demands.
4. Evolution of the traditional wireline architecture.
5. The evolution of cable, wireless and satellite networks.
6. Economic issues in the telecommunications sector raised by converging technologies.
7. Public policy puzzles.
Chapter 3. Bandwagon effects (J. Rohlfs).
1. Introduction.
2. Theory of bandwagon Demand.
3. Pricing of mature bandwagon services.
4. Historical pricing of telephone service.
5. Local usage charges for calls to Internet service providers.
6. Charges for fixed-to-mobile calls.
Chapter 4. Platform competition in telecommunications (J. Church, N. Gandal).
1. Introduction.
2. Network industries.
3. Battles for standards, compatibility and adoption.
4. Standards wars.
5. Battles for compatibility.
6. Cooperative standard setting.
7. Mandated standards.
8. Case studies.
Chapter 5. Broadband communications (R. Crandall).
1. The technology.
2. Broadband diffusion.
3. The economics of broadband supply.
4. The demand for broadband.
5. Network and bandwagon effects.
6. Regulation and competition.
7. Subsidies, universal service, and the "Digital Divide".
8. Conclusions.
Chapter 6. Cable television (T. Hazlett).
1. Spectrum in a tube.
2. Market power in local cable television service.
3. Regulation of rates.
4. Cable television programming.
5. The evolution of cable.
References.
Chapter 7. Wireless communications (J.S. Gans, S.P. King, Ju. Wright).
1. Introduction.
2. Background.
3. Economic issues in wireless communications.
4. Diffusion and demand for mobile telephony.
5. Regulation and competition.
Section II - The internet.
Chapter 8. The Economic geography of internet infrastructure in the United States (S.M. Greenstein).
1. Dispersion and concentration of Internet infrastructure.
2. The spread of commercial Internet access.
3. The location of network backbone.
4. The growth of broadband.
5. The location of business Internet infrastructure services.
6. Summaries of answers to motivating questions.
Chapter 9. Economics of the internet backbone (N. Economides).
1. Competition among Internet backbone service providers.
2. Structural conditions for Internet backbone services: Negligible barriers to entry and expansion.
3. Potential for anti-competitive behavior on the Internet backbone.
4. Network externalities and the Internet.
5. Network externalities and competition on the Internet.
6. Strategies that a Internet backbone provider might pursue.
7. Concluding remarks.
Chapter 10. Pricing traffic on interconnected networks: Issues, approaches, and solutions (A. Gupta, D.O. Stahl, A.B. Whinston).
1. Introduction.
2. Congestion, overuse, and economic implications.
3. Pricing approaches for the Internet traffic.
4. A generic model of priority pricing for data networks.
5. Future issues and challenges.
6. Conclusions.
Chapter 11. Toward an economics of the domain name system (M. Mueller).
1. Introduction.
2. Technical description of DNS.
3. The demand for domain names.
4. Domain name supply.
5. Economic policy issues.
6. Conclusion.
Section III: Institutional considerations.
Chapter 12. Bottlenecks and bandwagons: Access policy in the new telecommunications (G.R. Faulhaber).
1. Introduction.
2. Essential facilities (bottleneck access).
3. Network effects and interconnection (bandwagon access).
4. Lessons from the AOL-Time Warner Case.
5. Conclusions.
Chapter 13. European and American approaches to antitrust remedies and the institutional design of regulation in telecommunications (D. Geradin, J.G. Sidak).
1. Introduction.
2. The US model.
3. The EC model.
4. Conclusion.
Chapter 14. Telecommunications and economic development (B. Wellenuis, D.N. Townsend).
1. Introduction.
2. Development significance of telecommunications.
3. Evolution of policies and markets.
4. Results.
5. Lessons from reform.
6. The Internet.
7. Economic opportunity and the future.
8. The path ahead.
Chapter 15. Institutional changes in emerging markets: Implications for the telecommunications sector (P.T. Spiller).
1. Introduction.
2. The utilities' problem.
3. Sources of regulatory commitment.
4. Regulatory governance: Administrative process with judicial review.
5. Commitment in unified government systems.
6. Final comments.
1. Introduction.
2. Evolution of major alternatives to traditional telephone networks.
3. The Internet.
4. Institutional considerations.
5. Conclusion.
Section I - Evolution of major alternatives to traditional telephone networks.
Chapter 2. Emerging network technologies (D.N. Hatfield, B.M. Mitchell, P. Srinagesh).
1. Introduction.
2. Voice, data, and entertainment video signals.
3. Traditional circuit-switched wireline architecture: Limitations in the face of new demands.
4. Evolution of the traditional wireline architecture.
5. The evolution of cable, wireless and satellite networks.
6. Economic issues in the telecommunications sector raised by converging technologies.
7. Public policy puzzles.
Chapter 3. Bandwagon effects (J. Rohlfs).
1. Introduction.
2. Theory of bandwagon Demand.
3. Pricing of mature bandwagon services.
4. Historical pricing of telephone service.
5. Local usage charges for calls to Internet service providers.
6. Charges for fixed-to-mobile calls.
Chapter 4. Platform competition in telecommunications (J. Church, N. Gandal).
1. Introduction.
2. Network industries.
3. Battles for standards, compatibility and adoption.
4. Standards wars.
5. Battles for compatibility.
6. Cooperative standard setting.
7. Mandated standards.
8. Case studies.
Chapter 5. Broadband communications (R. Crandall).
1. The technology.
2. Broadband diffusion.
3. The economics of broadband supply.
4. The demand for broadband.
5. Network and bandwagon effects.
6. Regulation and competition.
7. Subsidies, universal service, and the "Digital Divide".
8. Conclusions.
Chapter 6. Cable television (T. Hazlett).
1. Spectrum in a tube.
2. Market power in local cable television service.
3. Regulation of rates.
4. Cable television programming.
5. The evolution of cable.
References.
Chapter 7. Wireless communications (J.S. Gans, S.P. King, Ju. Wright).
1. Introduction.
2. Background.
3. Economic issues in wireless communications.
4. Diffusion and demand for mobile telephony.
5. Regulation and competition.
Section II - The internet.
Chapter 8. The Economic geography of internet infrastructure in the United States (S.M. Greenstein).
1. Dispersion and concentration of Internet infrastructure.
2. The spread of commercial Internet access.
3. The location of network backbone.
4. The growth of broadband.
5. The location of business Internet infrastructure services.
6. Summaries of answers to motivating questions.
Chapter 9. Economics of the internet backbone (N. Economides).
1. Competition among Internet backbone service providers.
2. Structural conditions for Internet backbone services: Negligible barriers to entry and expansion.
3. Potential for anti-competitive behavior on the Internet backbone.
4. Network externalities and the Internet.
5. Network externalities and competition on the Internet.
6. Strategies that a Internet backbone provider might pursue.
7. Concluding remarks.
Chapter 10. Pricing traffic on interconnected networks: Issues, approaches, and solutions (A. Gupta, D.O. Stahl, A.B. Whinston).
1. Introduction.
2. Congestion, overuse, and economic implications.
3. Pricing approaches for the Internet traffic.
4. A generic model of priority pricing for data networks.
5. Future issues and challenges.
6. Conclusions.
Chapter 11. Toward an economics of the domain name system (M. Mueller).
1. Introduction.
2. Technical description of DNS.
3. The demand for domain names.
4. Domain name supply.
5. Economic policy issues.
6. Conclusion.
Section III: Institutional considerations.
Chapter 12. Bottlenecks and bandwagons: Access policy in the new telecommunications (G.R. Faulhaber).
1. Introduction.
2. Essential facilities (bottleneck access).
3. Network effects and interconnection (bandwagon access).
4. Lessons from the AOL-Time Warner Case.
5. Conclusions.
Chapter 13. European and American approaches to antitrust remedies and the institutional design of regulation in telecommunications (D. Geradin, J.G. Sidak).
1. Introduction.
2. The US model.
3. The EC model.
4. Conclusion.
Chapter 14. Telecommunications and economic development (B. Wellenuis, D.N. Townsend).
1. Introduction.
2. Development significance of telecommunications.
3. Evolution of policies and markets.
4. Results.
5. Lessons from reform.
6. The Internet.
7. Economic opportunity and the future.
8. The path ahead.
Chapter 15. Institutional changes in emerging markets: Implications for the telecommunications sector (P.T. Spiller).
1. Introduction.
2. The utilities' problem.
3. Sources of regulatory commitment.
4. Regulatory governance: Administrative process with judicial review.
5. Commitment in unified government systems.
6. Final comments.
- Edition: 1
- Volume: 2
- Published: December 9, 2005
- Imprint: North Holland
- Language: English
- eBook ISBN: 9780080460147
SM
S. Majumdar
Affiliations and expertise
University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.MC
M. Cave
Affiliations and expertise
University of Warwick, Coventry, U.K.