Introduction to telecommunication economics

Abstract

The telecommunications sector has become a dynamic key area for the economic development of the European Union (EU) and remains in constant evolution. Because of intense competition, telecommunications companies are forced to diversify their offers and thus to propose an increasing number of services. However, economic analysis often ignores important technical aspects of telecommunications and may not be aware of new developments. On the other hand, engineering models often ignore economic factors. Thus, the design and deployment of future networks that incorporate new services are subject to uncertainties such as equipment and capacity prices (due to technological innovation), and demand and supply for services (due to competition). Questions surrounding the deployment of telecommunications infrastructure and next generation networks - together with the massive adoption and increasing demand for new services - bring to the forefront hard questions about the future of Telecommunications and the need to address those questions in a multidisciplinary manner. This book on "Telecommunication Economics" fills that gap, presenting the multidisciplinary outcomes of COST Action "Econ@Tel: A Telecommunications Economics COST Network". © 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.