Integrated broadband networks (IBNs), when compared to high definition television, are seen by many as probably being more important to the future industrial competitiveness of the United States in the telecommunications field, and as certainly raising far more complex issues of economics, law, regulation, and social impact. The first concerted attempt to identify and investigate these issues was started in 1987 by a leading US telecommunications policy research center. This book presents key contributions to that study, each written by a leading authority in his field. Its breadth of coverage does justice to the multifaceted nature of the core policy issues; its scholarly standards make it a valuable resource for future researchers; and its relevance to immediate policy concerns makes it required reading for those who need to understand what will continue to be a highly controversial public debate for a long time to come.

Telecommunications represents one of the largest high technology equipment and service industries in the world. Today there is growing support within the telecommunications industry for competition domestically and in world trade which is directly at odds with its distinctive political tradition of monopoly provision and minimally competitive international trade practices. This raises major questions, both for emerging public policy and for theorists concerned with the making of public policy. This particularly true for Europe, the focus of this study, where the reform of the telecommunications sector has proven one of the most vexing issues confronting the unification of the European Common Market. Noam's book is the first major attempt to address the complicated economic and policy issues of telecommunications in Europe. He provides a thorough discussion of the evolution of central telephone networks, equipment supply, new value-added networks, and new telecommunications-related services within the framework of a detailed country by country analysis. This highly accessible and comprehensive study will be of interest to students and professionals in the areas of communications, economics, and political science.