The process of formulating and implementing telecommunications policy in the United States often seems chaotic and disorganised, with overlapping responsibility and frequent conflicts among federal and state regulators, Congress, the Administration, and the Federal judiciary. There has never been a consensus on what should change and what should remain unaltered. Telecommunications policy has evolved gradually over a relatively long period of time, resulting in a cumulative major transformation. It is still tied, however, to the Communications Act of 1934. Actions have been taken that have gradually moved policy from traditional public utility regulation of a monopoly to greater reliance on market forces and encouragement of competition. The policies are an amalgam incorporating elements from a wide range of political and economic views. There is nothing endemic in this transformation process to guarantee that the resulting policies have led to greater economic efficiency or that they are better in some subjective sense than alternatives that are available. policies that have been implemented in order to evaluate their impact. An objective evaluation of the impact of a policy affords an opportunity to make adjustments to it based on the realised economic consequences. This approach to policy making can be looked upon as a learning-by-doing exercise. In this book a number of objective studies based on data from various telecommunications systems are presented. These studies discuss and evaluate policies that have been implemented. In a number of instances, the policies have been misguided. Recommendations to correct the most egregious problems are offered.

The mobile telecommunications industry is one of the most rapidly growing sectors around the world. This book offers a comprehensive economic analysis of the main determinants of growth in the industry. Harald Gruber demonstrates the importance of competitive entry and the setting of technological standards, both of which play a central role in their contribution to the fast diffusion of technology. Detailed country studies provide empirical evidence for the development of the main themes: the diffusion of mobile telecommunications services, the pricing policies in network industries, the role of entry barriers such as radio spectrum and spectrum allocation procedures. This research-based survey will appeal to a wide range of applied industrial economists within universities, government and the industry itself.

The Economics of Communication: A Selected Bibliography with Abstracts lists several texts that focus on economics of communication. The book also provides description of every text. The texts are organized according to section. The first section contains texts that discuss the definition of the information/communications aspect of the economy, while the second section deals with various communication industries. Section 3 contains texts that provide economic analysis of some aspects of communications. The fourth section deals with the impact of communications on economic systems, while the fifth section contains texts about international exchange of communications goods and services. The last section contains texts that discuss some political implication of the economics of communication. The book will appeal to readers, professionals, and researchers who are concerned with several issues pertaining to economics and communications.

Contributing to a convergence of legal and economic approaches, The Economics of Antitrust and Regulation in Telecommunications integrates economic theory into current EU antitrust policy within the sector. The book addresses the role of competition and regulatory policies on a number of key issues in telecommunications, such as market definition, collective dominance, access to networks, and allocation of scarce resources.

Communications policy as been a fertile area for testing theories of regulation, subsidy and incentives, free speech, political participation, and the public interest. The capacities of new communications technology have changed markedly since much of the governing legislation in the communications field was written. Such a change is likely to continue and have considerable impact on specific communications sectors and in communications policy. This two volume set of analyses undertakes a review of telecommunications policy in transition--of actions taken and not taken, of goals pursued or ignored, of the adequacy of policy vehicles and their strengths and weaknesses. The authors evaluate three categories of policy problems: those of concept, scope, and judgment in communications policy; those specific to media industries and forces affecting them; and those concerning wider public policy concerns intersecting with communication.

Communication Economics and Development aims to determine a methodology for integrating communication variables into economic development models. The first five chapters of the book cover the theoretical issues and their conceptualization as the basis for deriving a better understanding of the role of communication in economic development. The major issues for concern are the economic variables that are endogenous to communication planning in the light of rapid advances in communication technologies. Chapters 6-9 deals with the consideration of the role of communication in national development; the international trade theory and communications; and the political economy of information in a changing international economic order. The Japanese experience in focusing on the role of communication in economic development; a model for predicting development benefits from telecommunication investment; and the role of telecommunications in developing countries are also discussed. The text further describes the impact of telecommunication and information in development planning strategy; the opportunity costs in computer conferencing during and for economic development; and the evaluation of the impact of communication on agricultural development in Nepal. The use of economic concepts in communication planning practice is also discussed.