Telecom Hardware White Papers
Private Telecommunications Networks: an Historical Perspective
Overview As the starting point for this paper, I review the formation of some of the nation's first alternative private networks. These network were largely perceived by information intensive sectors of the economy as a superior means for transferring information between business units. The private networks provided a superior mode of communications for large businesses, and played a large role in the demise of Western Union. I show that the substitution of private networks for the public telegraph system of Western Union fits within Schumpeter's vision that an innovative entrant would constrain the long-term earning power of a monopolist, such as Western Union. In section three, I provide data on the size of the private line market prior to the divestiture of AT&T, as well as on the market shares of the competitive suppliers. In section four of the paper, I review some of the factors which led to the formation of private networks during the post-World War II era. Finally, in section five, I offer some propositions regarding the formation and demise of networks.
| Publisher | Virtual Institute of Information | File Format | HTML |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date Published | August 2003 | Downloads | 2 |
| Format | White Papers | ||
| Topics | |||
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