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This article examines US-Soviet relations from a post-Cold War perspective, calling for a revision in how this era in history should be recorded. Issues include how the conflicting ideologies of the two governments aggravated international relations particularly due to the American desire for a global hegemony, how the growth of telecommunications effected the shift in power by allowing the US to have more reliable international contact than the Soviets, and finally how developing countries provided a battleground for the US and Soviet Union to test their ideology.

The benefits and failings of the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Basic Telecommunications is discussed.

The five stages of network development which countries have to go through in their quest to offer universal telecommunications access have been studied. These stages are the establishment of the network, wide geographic reach, mass market take-up, network completion and service to individuals. The level of network development has been identified as the reason why countries differ in their approach in pursuing universal access. The nature of the last stage has also been examined since it has now been achieved by some developed countries.

Telecommunication operators overall are attempting to maintain control their markets by engaging in a frenetic round of strategic alliances and mergers. However, they are being affected by a worldwide process which is orienting in the direction of a homogenization of socioeconomic space. Thus, these operators ought to analyze the political and economic context of their envisioned alliances with a long term view in mind.

The Global information infrastructure (GII) is replacing market-driven standards and voluntary agreements on standards for technical compatibility owing to its decentralized structure. However, its goals are elusive due to the strategic economic behaviors of businesses and national government. Credible alternative models as standards facilitating its growth are absent. Technical standards will shape the implications of GII for international trade and competition, and in the process raise issues that are relevant for regulation, competition and trade policy.

The telecommunications carriers have entered into a number of international ventures, and have posed problems for the traditional national regulation created by the global networks. The choice of various supra-national regulatory arrangements and institutions is dependent on the policy. The problems due to supra-national carriers fail to justify the hidden cost of elaborate mechanisms of supra-national policy. The national policy experimentation must be encouraged and less emphasis should be there on international policy coordination.

The regulation of competition has become a part of the public policy for many countries, especially with growing coordination between them regarding the policies. The role of the international telecommunication union is being challenged. The General Agreement on Trade and Tariff and World Trade Organization (WTO) have regulated liberalization at the global level. EU has taken up this responsibility at the regional level and has emerged as a model for the international telecommunication regime.

The global telecommunication market is undergoing substantial change in the areas of competition, regulation, standards and trade policy. In Europe, there is a move towards regulation at the European level, rather than at the national level. The competition law have strengthened all over the world, with a trend away from industry-specific regulation and growing reliance of markets on the World Trade Organization. The official standards bodies have adopted new roles and have been partially superceded by the industry fora.

Increased in-tourism and telecommunication systems modernization are the most probable causes of accelerated international telecommunications in Turkey. International travel has a significant impact on telephone calling patterns. Household behavior also affects the worldwide telecommunication market. A study analyzes the relationship between international telephone calls and international trade, tourism and GNP in Turkey.

The major political consequence of globalization is the absence of distinction between the government and opposition party policies. Western social science has become redundant due to globalizing changes in economic and technological spheres. An increase in transnational organized crime and development of a world market for American communications systems is determining the limits of independent national political activity.

Telecommunications is currently undergoing an unprecedented reorganization from a predominantly national organization to an industry that operates globally. The importance of electronic telecommunications for international communications and commerce was recognized [...]

Regulatory impacts on trade in telecommunication services includes offering a wider choice to the customer, protecting the role of public administrations that operate telecommunications, and applying the EEC's common trade policy. Changes in the telecommunications sector during the next 20 years will mean a more open market structure and a more complex demand function, which in turn will need flexible regulations. The role of Europan as aregulatory model is discussed.

The factors that influence the international diffusion of advanced telecommunications were determined. The relationship between investment, adoption externality and diffusion was shown to be generally more successful in countries that only recently adopted the telecommunication systems and possess small base of inferior technology, but demostrated fast growth and investments. Advanced countries suffered from the 'locked-in' situation in the electromechanical technology due to lower output and investments and also due to a large base vintage inferior technology.

A case study involving a US-based company that has established information systems (IS) activities in three non-US subsidiaries is used to assess the similarities and differences in these situations and to identify key success factors that may be applicable to the successful development of transnational systems.

World telecommunications traffic grew at a rate of over 15% a year in the 1980s, substantially faster than merchandise or service trade. The growth of such traffic is linked closely to the international flow of services and investment. Economizing on time, inventories and financial balances are important considerations in the use of international telecommunications networks. At the same time, network providers are engaging in international alliances to supply a variety of telecommunication services across borders. These alliances will influence strongly the further evolution of national and international regulatory regimes. An international regime more open in the trade of services and movement of investment is called for.

A study was conducted to examine the effect of trade infrastructures for international telecommunication services. Policy-makers are concerned with the establishment of trade regulations which would complement GATT negotiationsand the NAFTA. Since communication and information services have already pervaded the markets of international corporate economies, control of telecommunication has been shifted to the private sector.

Market entry of international satellite systems have been endorsed by the US in order to encourage competition to International Telecommunication Satellite Organization to promote consumer welfare. The different type of satellite systems are the provocateur-trendsetter, low profiler, innovator, regional marketer-niche player and opportunist-extortionist. Each system employs a different strategy for market entry that have their respective advantages.

International telecommunications have their economic, political, social and geographical implications. Specifically, international telecommunications depend on developments in commodities, people and capital. The case of Israel is discussed covering a three-decade period, 1951 to 1988. The growth in Israeli international communications is seen parallel to export performance in the 1980s. An interesting sidelight to the study is Israel's limited communication with its Middle Eastern neighbors in contrast to its wide-ranging communications with Western Europe and especially the US on both the social and economic level.

The open network provision (ONP) affecting the telecommunications industry of Europe was created to induce development and fair competition in the non-reserved services market. However, German value added networks (VANS) providers fear that ONP couldinstead adversely affect competition. The ONP should be refined in such areas as supply and usage conditions and tariff standards. Vans providers and other private service operators can play a key role in this development.

This article describes some characteristics of globalization, one of the most dramatic impacts of the information revolution. There is a need for a broad international agreement on trade in services, yet the changes in thinking that this demands are being hampered by old perceptions, particularly in telecommunications. Issues arising in the Geneva negotiations on trade in services are examined. Particular importance is attached to factoring the implications of the globalization process and the new telecommunications realities into national decision making, if governments wish to retain control over those decisions and their impacts. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The North-South economic gap continues to grow. Better understanding of the potentiality of new technology and the science and technology process in the South may allow faster economic development. This article considers these issues first with the context of development theory. A new perspective is then proposed which views development as a complex process of structural change influenced by new technologies, and policy implications for LDCs are drawn. Finally, guidelines for Third World policy making are outlined, taking biotechnology and telecommunications as case studies. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)