...TELECOMMUNICATIONS: THE BATTLE OF THE INDUSTRIES April 24, 1999 Econ 635 There have been many changes in the way telecommunication companies have been doing business- not only to satisfy the needs of the consumer, but to compete with other telecommunication services, too. Advances in technology have led to the integration of several telecommunication services which enter a home through existing copper wires or newer optical lines. New laws are even allowing companies to merge or acquire smaller companies for the purpose of increasing their leverage in the market. Cable Industry Currently, the cable industry relies heavily on the use of coaxial cable to transmit its signals, through radio waves, to consumers. This is the cable that is already installed in millions of homes throughout the country. However, compared to other recent technological advances, the coaxial cable has many set backs to overcome. First, the number of signals that it can transmit simultaneously is limited. Second, the signal transmitted by the cable gets worse as distance increases. As an additional option, fiber optics have emerged which can carry hundreds of video, data and voice channels. I will go into further detail on fiber optics later in my research. This traditional cable responded by implementing the use of digital compression. Digital compression allows a broadcaster to squeeze in more channels of programming in each single coaxial cable, although picture quality diminishes...
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...original Morse telegraph of 1837 did not use a key and sounder. Instead it was a device designed to print patterns at a distance. 1858 Transoceanic telegraph cable is laid – The transoceanic telegraph cable is an undersea cable running under the Atlantic Ocean used for telegraph communications. The first communications occurred August 16, 1858, reducing the communication time between North America and Europe from ten days, the time it took to deliver a message by ship, to a matter of minutes. 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone - The telegraph was followed by Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone in 1876. The magneto-telephone was one of the first telephones on which both transmission and reception were done with the same instrument. 1885 - Incorporation of the American Telephone and Telegraph company (AT&T). After its incorporation in 1885, the American Telephone and Telegraph company dominated the telecommunications market. 1888 - Heinrich Hertz discovers the electromagnetic wave 1895 - Marconi begins experimenting with wireless telegraph 1901 Guglielmo Marconi invented the radio—the first wireless electronic communications system. 1906 - The first commercial wireless voice transmitting system utilizing electromagnetic waves, the radio, was built in the United States. 1934 – Communications Act of 1934. FCC was established and charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable...
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...1876- Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone. 1888 - The Bell Company telephone monopoly is established. 1894 - Non-Bell companies enter the rural telephone market. 1919 - Rotary-dial service is introduced. Rotary-dial service permitted the installation of switching systems which rendered the calling process a little more automatic.2 1963 - Touch-tone service is introduced.3 Touch-tone service permitted the use of now infamous automated phone menus. "Touch 1 for Sales, touch 2 for Customer Service, and touch 3 for ..." 1967 - Toll-free (800) service is introduced. 1984 - The AT&T monopoly is dissolved. 1988 - Commercial voicemail service is introduced. Until 1988, telephone companies were legally barred from offering voicemail to their subscribers as part of an effort by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect telephone answering businesses.4 1992 - The first smartphone is introduced. 1993 - Digital cellular service is introduced. 1995 - The first Internet (VoIP) phone is introduced. 1996 - The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is enacted. 2002 - 3G (Third Generation) cellular service is introduced. 2008 - 4G (Fourth Generation) cellular service is introduced. 2010 - 4G LTE (Fourth Generation Long-Term Evolution) cellular service is introduced. 2012 - The 4G Apple iPhone 5 is introduced 1 The telephone system that was to evolve into today's multi-faceted telecommunications system began with Bell's invention. Without bell going forward with this...
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...BT Telephone Case 1. What are the issues that evolve as a result of privatization? * Introduction of domestic competition – refocusing of activities * Reforms prepared BT for 3 main challenges: * Regulatory barriers to international competition expected to breakdown * Companies internationalized, they might prefer to deal with single worldwide telecommunications service companies. Tailored less neatly to specifically defined geographic areas * Increased international competition and growing costs of technology = increased concentration of the market 2. What are some of the marketing implications of the technical advances? * Telephone service company can use telephone services best to its advantages * Makes selling easier, bound less by face-to-face interactions * Consolidation of information/profiling customers 3. How were they segmented before the reorganization? * Geographical structure, 31 regions consolidated to 5 regions * 3 customer centered divisions: * Business Communications * Personal Communications * Special Businesses (including mobile and operator services) 4. How are they now segmenting the market? * Based on the amount of lines that were assigned to each company * National, regional accounts, medium sized, small, very small * Medium: 6-15 lines, VSB: 1 line, National: 15+ lines 5. What benefit is TAM to the customers? Telephone Account Management * Rather...
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...application of Internet Protocols (IP) that enables the conversion of voice communications into data packets and then these packets are transmitted via an IP network such as the Internet. “VoIP services convert your voice into a digital signal that travels over the Internet”. (fcc.gov) Similar to using your analog phone system and going through a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), now you will be using a digital phone and going through the Internet. All you need to get the ball rolling and to be part of this new trend is a decent Internet connection at home and you could say goodbye to that plain old analog telephone line forever. Most cable companies are offering service bundles that include cable television, Internet access and telephone services. These companies are transitioning from the telephone analog system to the VoIP systems. A lot of costumers are switching over to VoIP for the simple reason of saving money. VoIP services usually offer better rates for local and international calls compare to the traditional telephone company rates. VoIP is the technology that makes it possible to have a telephone conversation over the Internet or a dedicated Internet Protocol network instead of dedicated voice transmission lines. This allows the elimination of circuit switching and the associated...
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...the high-growth services mobile and broadband[1]. Brazil’s telecom market changed rapidly after the privatisation of state owned companies in the late 90’s last century. Today approximately 300 Internet Service Provider compete in the brazilian internet market. Although the first broadband connections were established in 1999, fast internet access is still largely limited to major cities. However, as shown in table 1 the internet market is fast growing with 65% rising in 2005 and 41% in 2006 to 36 million internet subscribers in the end of 2007. It is the world seventh largest internet market and it is estimated to grow further in the next years. [pic] Table 1: Brazil Telecoms Sector - Internet The fixed-line market in Brazil is still dominated by the former state owned operating companies Oi (former Tele Norte Leste) and Telesp. Together these companies run more than 94% of the fixed-lines in Brazil. Oi has had the concession to provide wireline services in 9 states, which as shown in figure 1 form region II. With the state allowance in 2003 every company could operate in each other’s concession area. In spite of the new regulation most of their services still remain limited to their original operating areas which provide the firms with a high potential of customer acquisition in competitor controlled areas[2]. [pic] Figure 1: Brazil’s regional breakdown in the telecom sector However, telephone main lines declined constantly in recent years, due to the very high...
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...Telecommunications and Economic Development: Empirical Evidence from Southern Africa by James Alleman Carl Hunt Donald Michaels Milton Mueller Paul Rappoport Lester Taylor 2 International Telecommunications Society • Sydney TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Executive Summary1-5 1.1 Methodology / Economic Analysis 1-2 1.2 Reasons for Under-Investment in the Telecommunications Sector 1.3 Conclusions 1-3 2 Overview 2-1 2.1 Introduction 2-1 2.2 Purpose of this Paper 2-1 3 Methodology 3-1 3.1 Literature Review 3-1 3.1.1 Macroeconomic statistical studies 3.1.2 Policy Implications 3-6 3-3 4 Data 4-1 4.1 Data Deficiencies for Southern Africa 4-1 4.2 Data Problems 4-2 4.3 Limited data 4-2 5 Results 5-1 5.1 GDP and Telephone penetration 5-2 6 Conclusions Error! Bookmark not defined. 7 Selected Bibliography and References 7-1 1-2 4 International Telecommunications Society • Sydney "... telecommunications policies affect not only telecommunications..., but also the economic development... and social, cultural and political growth." Pekka Tarjanne1 1 Executive Summary 2 Many countries in the developing world must decide how to best allocate scarce resources for improved economic development. An ITU study of telecommunications and development, The Missing Link, concluded that "telecommunications can increase the efficiency of economic, commercial, and administrative activities, improve the effectiveness of social...
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...1. Introduction The Dutch company Telematch is nowadays very well known for beeing a very good service company in the IT and communication sector. Telematch provides the customer with communication solutions like Voice-over-IP phone systems, ISDN communication platforms and even alarm systems for hotels and hospitals.Telematch aims to reduce the costs of existing communication systems by replacing them with new ones, which are usually 20-25% cheaper than the old ones. To gain the best insightinto the products and services offered by Telematch we will make an example: Within the healthcare sector, one person often has to deal with many different communication systems like a fixed telephone, a wireless telephone, a GSM-based telephone and a nurse call system for emergency cases. Those systems are irreplaceable and necessary to provide a high quality and appropriate care. Often these communications are not working together but in parallel, allowing efficiency to be forthcoming. At this point Telematch offers its solutions. Telematchs care concept is unique because the central alarm server is receiving data from all devices, even if they are in multiple locations or oversea. Through the central alarm and signaling “Messenger @ Net” application it can be ensured an optimal integration of the various communications systems. “Messenger @ Net” provides a central access point for all communications, alarms and successions within the customers organization. Virtually all types of equipment...
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...penalties that are associated with those abuses. Among many of the legislative acts passed due to the advancement of technology, the two acts that will be described help protect the consumer, the creditors, the government, and the public in general. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, (TCPA), 1991 was created due to the advancement of telephone technology and the data available made cause for concern for the interests of the public. Another concern for abuse necessitating the need for legislation was the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 1970. The FCRA was put in place to protect the accuracy and fairness of creditor reporting to the major credit bureaus. Information technology advances and the uses and abuses of them, necessitated the TCPA, 1991 and FCRA, 1978 acts as well as the amendments since inception due to further technological advances. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 was enacted to require the Federal Communications Commission, (FCC), to regulate any unsolicited calls to any residences and regulate what is known as “telemarketing”, (Bowers, 1993). Telemarketing as described by Bowers (1993), is the “use of automated telephone dialing systems, prerecorded or artificial voice messages, and telephone facsimile machines.” (Bowers, 1993, para. 2). The idea was to ensure residential phones, cell phones, facsimiles, and...
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...GOALS OF THE ACT The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was supposed to get government out of the telecommunications business. Instead, for now, it has accomplished the opposite. While Congress set broad rules allowing local telephone, long-distance and cable companies to invade each other's turf, it left the details to the FCC. The Telecom Act deregulated many aspects of telecommunications services, allowing local telephone companies, long-distance providers and cable operators to compete for customers by offering services previously restricted by monopoly protection. For example, long-distance providers and cable operators may now offer local telephone service. Local telephone companies may offer entertainment video services through their local telephone lines to customers. Deregulation as a result of the Telecom Act is expected to increase competition by enabling telecommunication companies to expand services and service bases. But how will consumers benefit from the new competition? The removal of the barriers to competition will eventually mean lower prices, greater customer choice and control. Companies which had no competition before will be forced to become more cost-conscious and more service-oriented. In addition, users should find new technologies coming online at a faster rate, offering a much wider choice of features and services. Competition will cause the technological envelope to be pushed. Competition should drive down prices, local cable and phone officials...
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...Acts Research Paper BIS/220 August 1, 2012 Nik Johnson Acts Research Paper In this paper, we will examine the advances in information technology that has resulted in new ethical changes in implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 1998, and Do Not Call Implementation Act, 2003. The two acts that I researched go hand in hand with each other because each Act is implemented by the Federal Communications Commission. Also the Do Not Call Implementation Act, 2003 established as a result of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 1991. Both acts have been established to protect the consumer and his or her privacy. Thankfully, advances in information technology have assisted in the protection of consumers for unwanted calls and solicitations, but it has also made it easier for the uninvited calls. The Federal Communications Commission established rules and regulations that companies soliciting had to follow. One of the new rules required the companies to provide caller ID that would help with consumers who had caller ID to identify whether or not someone wants to answer the phone. Also they have to identify themselves and the company they are calling on behalf of when calling consumers. One of the original rules of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 1998 is that no solicitation phone calls could be made before eight a.m. and after nine p.m.. After many more complaints of unwanted phone calls from telemarketing companies the Federal Communications Commission along...
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...CONTENTS Page I. INTRODUCTION. ......................................................................................... 1 II. CONVERGENCE OF TELEPHONY NETWORKS WITH DATA 3 NETWORKS AND THE EMERGENCE OF VOICE OVER INTERNET 5 PROTOCOL TECHNOLOGIES................................................................... III. ADVANTAGES AND POSSIBLE DISADVANTAGES OF VOICE OVER INTERNET PROTOCOL TECHNOLOGIES ............................... IV. COMPETITION AMONG TELECOMMUNICATIONS 8 COMPANIES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE UNITED NATIONS......................................................................................................... I. INTRODUCTION As part of its programme of work for 2006, the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) conducted a review of selected telecommunications issues and uses of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies in United Nations system organizations. The objective of the review is to identify the opportunities for, and determine the feasibility of, using new telecommunication technologies based on VoIP in the United Nations system organizations, with a view to reducing costs and improving...
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...Comcast decided to move into the telephone business in 1988 when they purchased Amcell, this was the first time a cable company was able to offer their customers telephone service from another source other than the telephone providers. Ralph Roberts named his son, Brian L. Roberts to be the next president of the company which took everyone by surprise but he turned out to be a very efficient manager. In the mid-1990s there was an increase in activity for the cable and telecommunications industries due to deregulation which brought the cable and telephone companies into competition with one another, an increase of mergers and acquisitions were seen since many companies wanted to build more efficient networks. Microsoft Corporation decided to invest one billion dollars into Comcast so they would have a cable partner that could test “ interactive television and high-speed computer services,” (Funding Universe) they decided to choose Comcast due to them having the most advanced cable systems in the country at the time. Around the same time Microsoft invested, Comcast converted to a new fiber-coaxial technology which in turn made it more efficient by improving its reliability and the overall signal quality. Comcast went to being solely a cable company to a giant in the technology world and this is proven with their most recent revenue increase of $37.9 billion in 2011 to $55.8 billion in 2012. Comcast does have a few competitors in the market with the major ones being Verizon...
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...AT&T has been around since 1876, when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. (http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711). Headquartered in Dallas, TX, AT&T is the largest landline and wireless service providers in America. They also provide Uverse, which is ultra-high speed internet and interactive high definition cable TV service. AT&T also provides wireless phone and data service, primarily to American customers, in over 200 countries. (http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711). The US wireless market constitutes over 243M wireless subscribers. This represents a market penetration of 81%. The wireless market sells mobility of voice and data (video-media, download content and internet access). The wireless market is distributed between the following major competitors and distinguishing technology. AT&T- TDMA,GSM, UMTS/HSPDA Verizon Wireless – CDMA, EV-DO Sprint-Nextel- CDMA, EV-DO T-mobile - GSM, UMTS AT&T's Strategies vs. Competitors' Strategies AT&T's strategy is "bringing it all together for their customers, from revolutionary smartphones to next-generation TV services and sophisticated solutions for multi-national businesses." (http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711). AT&T is a horizontally diversified, related businesses company. Their complementary products are sold between consumers and small to large businesses which include wireless telephone service, landlines and internet/data services. AT&T wants to differentiate...
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...Telecommunication Evolution Timeline The way we communicate with one another across distances large and small has changed radically over the last century. We as a nation have gone from the basic telephone used to talk to others across the country to “smart” phones that can be used to not only talk to one another but send text messages and surf the internet. In this paper we will review a few of the major milestones of the telecommunication industry. The first form of telecommunication was the telephone, invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. This invention would later open the door to a variety of different types of communications. Another important milestone was the created of the Bell Company monopoly in 1888. By securing patents the company was able to manufacture equipment and provide telephone services with no competition. Most young people today do not remember a time before touch tone service. They take the menu prompt they hear when calling a company for granted. This touch-tone service did not exist until 1963. We can now choose one for accounting or two for the help desk. The next major milestone in telecommunications is the internet. Many think of the internet as the “information super highway” we use today. The Internet was created in 1969 as a result of the Cold War. It was created to be an effective form of communication in case of a nuclear war. It was meant to be used by the military, but with the introduction of a new interface in the 1990s...
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