This innovative book provides state-of-the-art analyses of the current condition of the economics of digital markets. The most recent developments in web technology are evolving, creating an increasingly deregulated environment. Much of the impetus for liberalisation is in response to multimedia convergence and the globalisation of markets, leading to uncertainties in the sector. Gary Madden and Russel Cooper examine the microeconomics of platform structure and firm competition within and between digital markets, modern theoretical treatments of regulatory intervention in digital markets and the consideration of forward-looking experimental analysis of demand for yet-to-be provided services. Bringing together a highly focused group of eminent scholars, this book will appeal to academics, postgraduate students, and both international treaty and national government agencies as well as market analysts.

This major reference work provides a thorough and up-to-date survey and analysis of recent developments in the economics of telecommunications. The Handbooks serve both as a source of reference and technical supplement for the field of telecommunications economics. Volume I reviews the traditional literature to bring readers up to date on the current treatment of telecommunications economics. The coverage includes: demand, supply, costs, market structure, regulation, interconnection and universal service. Volume II is concerned with future developments that will arise in the digital era. The coverage includes: internet, electronic commerce, mobile voice and data transmission, point-to-point and multi-point communication, regulation, satellite services and universal service in the information age. Volume III examines the structure within which modern communications companies operate and evolve, and how corporations must account for multiple objectives associated with both national economic and social policy. The volume draws useful lessons from the recent corporate experience of major international telecommunications companies. The contributors explore the interaction of diversity in national approaches with the continuing need for international cooperation and coordination, which continues to be an important area of debate. The Handbooks are written at a level intended for professional use by economists, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and will also prove useful to policy analysts, engineers and managers within the industry.

This major reference work provides a thorough and up-to-date survey and analysis of recent developments in the economics of telecommunications. The Handbooks serve both as a source of reference and technical supplement for the field of telecommunications economics.Volume III examines the structure within which modern communications companies operate and evolve, and how corporations must account for multiple objectives associated with both national economic and social policy. The volume draws useful lessons from the recent corporate experience of major international telecommunications companies. The contributors explore the interaction of diversity in national approaches with the ongoing need for international cooperation and coordination, which continues to be an important area of debate. The Handbooks are written at a level intended for professional use by economists, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and will also prove useful to policy analysts, engineers and managers within the industry.

This major reference work provides a thorough and up-to-date survey and analysis of recent developments in the economics of telecommunications. The Handbook serves both as a source of reference and technical supplement for the field of telecommunications economics. Volume I reviews the traditional literature to bring readers up-to-date on the current treatment of telecommunications economics. The coverage includes: demand, supply, costs, market structure, regulation, interconnection and universal service. Volume II is concerned with future developments that will arise in the digital era. The coverage includes: internet, electronic commerce, mobile voice and data transmission, point-to-point and multi-point communication, regulation, satellite services and universal service in the information age. Volume III examines the structure within which modern communications companies operate and evolve, and how corporations must account for multiple objectives associated with both national economic and social policy. The volume draws useful lessons from the recent corporate experience of major international telecommunications companies. The contributors explore the interaction of diversity in national approaches with the continuing need for international cooperation and coordination, which continues to be an important area of debate. The Handbooks are written at a level intended for professional use by economists, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and will also prove useful to policy analysts, engineers and managers within the industry.

This volume examines the economics of platform structure and firm competition within and between online markets. It also details modern theoretical treatments of regulatory intervention in online markets and the consideration of forward-looking experimental analysis of demand for yet to be provided services. The volume is divided into three parts: innovation and competition in online markets; regulation, pricing and evaluation with real options; and empirical approaches to market analysis.

'Due to their economic characteristics and also to their consequences on many aspects of collective life, information networks have always been at the edge of regulatory innovations and at the center of policy debates. The contributors of this volume combine long term visions of the factors determining regulatory policies with up-to-date analyses of technicalities to be dealt with, to provide the reader with an extended understanding of the issues and constraints shaping the future of digital networks. - Eric Brousseau, Universite Paris-Dauphine, France and the European University Institute, Italy Digital markets worldwide are in rapid flux. The Internet and World Wide Web have traditionally evolved in a largely deregulated environment, but recently governments have shown great interest in this rapidly developing sector and are imposing regulations for a variety of reasons that are changing the shape of these industries. This book explores why the industrial organization of broadband ISPs, Internet backbone providers and content/application providers are in such turmoil. The expert contributors straddle the turbulent past of the telecoms sector and also contribute to its exciting - though unpredictable - future via positive analysis of past communications policies, which is then utilized to deduce lessons to guide future policy making decisions. It is illustrated that broadband ISPs no longer simply provide a conduit for service delivery; they are also involved in producing content and transaction services themselves, in competition with content and delivery providers. The blurring of the traditional lines between these three sectors, as each enters into the others' markets, is highlighted. The conclusion is that we are witnessing the emergence of powerful, competing platforms, linked in complex ways that challenge traditional economic analyses. Exploring governance issues, regulation and investment, next-generation service markets and wireless communication, this book will prove a fascinating and illuminating read for scholars, researchers, post-graduate students and policy makers with an interest in ICT, technology and innovation, economics and industrial organization.

Russel Cooper and Gary Madden The present volume analyses the frontiers of broadband, electronic and mobile commerce markets. High-capacity and intelligent mobile telecommunication net works have resulted in new services, such as SMS and Internet banking. Growth in mobile Internet network infrastructure and subscription has provided a base for the development of e-commerce. Accordingly, recent research on broadband net works is forward-looking, e. g., forecasting Internet telephony adoption and the structure of future retail markets. The broadband regime brings with it concerns of identifying appropriate standards and delivery for universal service. Regulation and pricing are matters of importance as well as appropriate investment decisions within a market of ongoing innovation. The volume is divided in five parts: e-commerce business models; network technology and productivity; demand and pricing; market growth, regulation and investment; and issues related to the development imperative. The structure of the volume is guided by the basic themes considered at the International Telecommu nications Society's Asia-Australasian Regional Conference "Mcbusiness, E commerce and the Impact of Broadband on regional Development and Business Prospects," which took place in Perth Western Australia on 22-24 June 2003. The volume contains a selection of papers presented at this conference as well as four additional invited papers, commissioned to augment the volume. The invited pa pers are authored by Jerry Hausman (Chapter 1), Jeffery Bernstein and Charles Zarkadas (Chapter 6), M. Ishaq Nadiri and Banani Nandi (Chapter 8) and Glenn Woroch (Chapter 13)."