Over the past decade, the communications industry has changed dramatically due to deregulation, technological changes, increasing convergence of previously unrelated services and, more recently, rapid advancements in Internet, broadband and wireless technologies. The global telecommunications market went through a fundamental transition from national state owned monopolies to privatised, deregulated competitive markets. Simultaneously, the new technologies made possible new, innovative services, created new markets and reduced the barriers to entry. Together deregulation, competition and new technology created strong downwards pressures in prices. In essence, there was a new paradigm - a significant change in the balance between Porter’s Five Forces, producing a high degree of dynamism and complexity in the telecommunications industry. Together this created one of the largest ‘booms’ of modern times and utterly transformed the telecom landscape by introducing a host of new players. T...
