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Reports the results of a survey of information systems managers with respect of the importance of telecommunications issues and the quality of their telecommunications training. The response of the information systems managers identified four factors: standard or clerical applications (e‐mail and voice mail); advanced or emerging applications (conducting business on the Internet); technical issues (telecommunications terminology and equipment capability); and managerial issues (the use of telecommunications to gain a competitive advantage). The information systems managers rated managerial issues as more important than technical issues, thus reflecting a shift to the strategic issues of telecommunications. While the information systems managers rated training on standard applications the highest, they expressed clear dissatisfaction in all areas of their telecommunications training. Surprisingly, it was in the managerial area of telecommunication that the IS managers expressed their greatest desire for additional training. All too often technology rules the business. It is now time to revert to the core organizational emphasis and use technology to manage the business efficiently.

Reports the results of a recent study of marketing and information systems (IS) managers about the importance of telecommunications in their positions and the quality of their training in telecommunications. Surprisingly, the marketing managers rated the importance of the 30 telecommunications issues in their positions higher than the IS managers. Yet, the marketing managers expressed more dissatisfaction with their telecommunications training in these issues than the IS manager. The researchers computed training need as the difference between the importance of the issue and the quality of training on that issue. Although the marketing manager had a substantially higher training need than the IS manager, there was remarkable agreement on the issues on which both groups of managers want additional training. They seek training on the managerial issues, such as data integrity, the use of telecommunications for a competitive advantage, strategic planning of telecommunications and data security.

Reports the results of a survey of marketing managers with respect to the importance of telecommunications issues and the quality of their telecommunications training. The responses of the marketing managers identified three categories of issues: standard or clerical applications, such as e‐mail or voice mail; advanced applications, such as conducting business on the Internet and EDI; and managerial and technical issues, such as the use of telecommunications to gain a competitive advantage. Surprisingly, marketing managers rated the standard applications as the most important. The explanation was found in the quality of their training. Marketing managers expressed major dissatisfaction with all areas of telecommunications training, but especially in the advanced applications and managerial issues. Rather than placing emphasis on the strategic, more training effort was spent on telecommunications training in the clerical functions. Without knowledge about the advanced or cutting‐edge applications, marketing managers do not understand the potential of these applications and issues in the organization.

Looks at the shift in emphasis in Australia, from a historical perspective and examines the growing fears in the community that citizens may become disenfranchised as a result. Argues that a slavish adherence to efficiency through technological advance risks undervaluing the complementarity of information in the community. Concludes that focusing on efficiency and quantification moves away from noting the constitutional and democratic scope of telecommunications.

Examines Spain’s problems in implementing regulatory reform and offers suggestions for addressing them. Hopes to be instructive to other countries embarking on regulatory reform. Concludes that other countries should concentrate on problems on implementation that they are likely to face and should be prepared for.

The purpose of this study is to assess how telecommunications companies in Nigeria leverage intellectual capital as a strategic resource for creating competitive advantage.

A previously published research instrument was administered and survey data were collected from 320 managers in 29 telecommunications companies.

Hypotheses related to the relationship of human, structural and customer capital and its influence on business performance were tested. Results show that Nigerian telecommunications companies have mostly emphasized the use of customer capital, exemplified by market research and customer relationship management to boost their business performance.

The over‐emphasis on customer capital to the detriment of other intellectual capital components is found to be undermining the productivity of Nigerian telecommunications companies.

This is the first published study of intellectual capital development in Nigeria.

Analyses the evolution of China’s telephone and cable systems, in terms of the public interest, discussing current bureaucratic conflicts and policy debates over convergence, and construction of an independent broadband cable network. Looks in depth at China’s problems and the different problems for its citizens with regard to poverty levels and access to the Web.

Taking a forward looking and global perspective, the paper seeks to address the issue of whether the concept of public service telecommunications has any relevance to the future.

The paper draws on published sources to look at the history of public service telecommunications, mainly in the USA, reviews the progress towards universal service across the world and explores the likely future developments in the telecommunications landscape over the next few decades.

The concept of public service telecommunications helped to stabilise the telecommunications industry in its infancy but ultimately stifled access to telecommunications services at affordable prices. However, the future will still need to be nurtured so that telecommunications are provided genuinely in a way that serves the public interest.

Provides a global and forward‐looking view on the value of the public interest in telecommunications.

The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze how and why the question of outsourcing or insourcing within a specific empirical context, telecommunications services, has been handled differently over time.

A longitudinal study on procurement of telecommunications for the Swedish public sector's organizations during the last 40 years. The empirical data were collected from three case studies and one research project.

The paper identifies four phases: from a simple buying situations, via insourcing of equipment in order to produce some services in‐house, to outsourcing of telecommunications in a first step and to outsourcing of combined data and telecommunications in a second step. Three major contextual determinants are identified for the public procurement of telecommunications services: de‐monopolization, rapid technical development and pressure on public agencies from politicians, citizens and others. In addition to low cost, core competence, control and flexibility, the paper identifies business development as a new logic for outsourcing and insourcing.

This study is limited to Sweden and public procurement of telecommunications services. Therefore, it would be of value to test if the development of public procurement of telecommunications in other countries passed through the same phases and with the same determinants.

Many of the findings are valid for public procurement in other countries, especially in the European Union due to the common legislative base for public procurement.

The paper fulfills an identified need to carry out a longitudinal study of changes in public procurement of telecommunications through the different phases of in/outsourcing.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the long-run impact of telecommunications revenue and telecommunications investment on economic growth of Ghana for the time horizon 1976-2007.

The paper uses the Augmented Dickey Fuller and Phillips Perron unit root test to explore the stationarity property of the variables and the Engle-Granger residual-based test of cointegration to model an appropriate restricted error correction model.

The outcome of the analysis produced mixed results. Telecommunications revenue does not contribute significantly whilst telecommunications investment does.

Policy makers will have to deal with a conundrum; while designing targeted policies that will attract more telecommunication investment in order to maximize the corresponding revenues and the economic growth it brings in its wake, they must at the same time find ways and resources to grow the economy to a point or threshold where revenue from telecommunications can have the much needed impact on their economies.

The study is one of the first that has investigated the line of causality between telecommunication revenue and economic growth unlike previous research that mainly focused on the impact of telecommunication infrastructure on economic development.