Most Recent Developments in the Global Telecommunication Network.

This paper reviews current knowledge about the structure of the international telecommunications network and how it has changed over time (1978-2008) as a result of the process of globalization, historical events and changes in telecommunications technology. Consistent with World Systems Theory, the network may be described as having a center-periphery dimension with North America and Western European countries at the center, and less economically developed countries at the periphery. The peripheral nations are clustered into regional groups - Latin America, Asia, Islam, and the former Soviet Republics. Over time, the integration of the global community, the breakup of the Eastern Bloc, the reintegration of Hong Kong into China and the busting of the dotcom bubble have resulted in major changes in the pattern of global telephone flows. Since 2000, there has been a decline in the rate of change in international telephone network. This decrease is most likely due changes in telecommunications technology, the adoption of the Internet and VoIP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]