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 infrastructure
This page is under construction.
the industry
At the national and international level the
connectivity industry continues to be unstable. Globally
the infrastructure has more kept pace with demand on most
routes and in particular regions 'over-building' of
capacity (or merely poor planning) has resulted in some
operators significantly scaling back plans to provide
national/local fast access.
At the international level consolidation of major internet
service providers and telecommunications operators
continues. Locally the picture is more varied: the drastic
consolidation forecast by some pundits in Australia, the
US and EU has yet to occur. World internet traffic is
dominated by around 280 international ISPs, with the ten
largest owning or leasing 70% of global internet bandwidth
(ie the transborder telecommunications links and routers).
These include AT&T, WorldCom, PSINet, Sprint and Cable & Wireless;
they're predominantly from the US, with a few from the UK,
France and Germany.
Regional transborder operators such as Pacific Century CyberWorks
and Telstra are increasingly competing with the global
giants and with ISPs that have a national or local focus.
Australia has around 800 ISPs: the three largest account
for around 60% of traffic but as is often noted, don't
necessarily provide the best service or best pricing to
business and domestic consumers. Given relatively low
entry costs small ISPs continue to appear. Most disappear
as a result of revenue/service problems and acquisition by
competitors.
Academic research networks such as Australia's AARNet and GÉANT
often act as national/international connectivity providers alongside commercial
ISPs. While there have been some loosening of regulatory
restraints (eg removal at the end of 2000 of restrictions
on AARNet under Australian telecommunications legislation)
most specialise in research traffic, particular as part of
Internet2 development.
Competition and access
Competition In Telecommunications (Cambridge, MIT
Press 00) by Jean-Jacques Laffont & Jean Tirole and
Universal Service: Interconnection, Competition &
Monopoly in the Making of the American Telephone System
(Cambridge, MIT Press 96) by Milton Mueller examine
universal service regimes.
There are
more varied perspectives in Opening Networks to
Competition: The Regulation & Pricing of Access
(Kluwer 96) edited by David Gabel & David Weiman, in Networks,
Infrastructure & the New Task for Regulation (Ann
Arbor, Uni of Michigan 96) edited by Werner Sichel and Deregulatory
Takings & the Regulatory Contract: The Competitive
Transformation of Network Industries in the US
(Cambridge, Cambridge Uni Press 98) by Gregory Sidak &
Daniel Spulber.
The incisive paper
The
End of End-to-End: Preserving the Architecture of the
Internet in the Broadband Era
by Mark Lemley & Hal Varian explores concerns with 'bundling'
and other restrictions by major carriers. The 'digital
divide' page in our
metrics guide considers other studies.
We'll be adding
other pointers shortly.
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