Monitor

Monitor NTT two vears after privatization

The privatization of N’IT - part of a broad plan to deregulate Japan’s telecommunication’s industry - resulted in a multitude of new players entering the field. To date 16 new companies have been approved by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to operate as Type I telecommunications carriers, which provide services through their own circuits and hardware facilities. Some Type I companies provide their services using microwave circuits, with others planning to build optical fibre networks which are intended to run alongside roads and railways. Growing at an equally rapid pace is the Japanese market for Type II telecommunications services; these are provided by companies which lease

circuits from Type I carriers. The Type II market is split into ‘Special’ Type II companies offering national and international services, and ‘General’ Type II companies which provide all other types of leasedcircuit telecommunications services. Nearly 400 companies are now offering value-added networks (VANS) together with other general services. Market participants come from many different sectors of trade and industry, including banks, computer manufacturers, retailers, freight and overseas firms. As a privately held joint-stock company, N’IT is free from many of the governmental restrictions applying to public entitites. The corporation has undergone far-reaching internal organizational changes, leading to a semiautonomous divisional system. Each division acts as a profit centre operating within a defined role, according to the service it provides. Each NTT division will control and monitor its own performance, investments. level of collaboration with other divisions, and R&D. The new service-specific structure equips NTT with the flexibility to respond to the rapidly changing Japanese market, in terms of service and technology. Indeed, nine R&D sections have been set up, each targeted towards specific goals. and each aggressively marketing the technology it produces. The price of NTT has rocketed in a relatively short period of time. Based on a strong pre-issue demand, 200 000 shares were initially offered through a bidding system which set a final share price of Xl 197 000 (about US$7 980). In a remarkably short time, the trading value increased to 2.5 times the original share price, making NTT the world’s largest company in terms of market value. A

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

December

Two yeurs ago on I April 1985, the Japanese government approbred the chunging of the state nlonop+ qf telecommunicutions into a private company - the Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation - NTT. This move had a radical effect on the Jupunese telecommunications market as a whole. This report from NTT gives their owl1 views on the corporation, two years after privatization. The decision to create NTT stemmed from four major factors: Profit-oriented companies give a stronger emphasis to technological advancement than do bureaucratic monopolies. Competition winnows out the best alternatives for new products and services. Increasing competition in services, products and technology. from overseas, specifically the USA & UK. The Japanese government was itself undergoing a period of rationalization.

POLICY

1987

second share trrrrtchc is due this vear. with a total public share offer of two-thirds of the stock b!, the end of 1988.

Subsidiaries Since privatization, NTT has established over 100 subsidiaries. affiliates and associated companies. This network of smaller organizations operates in newly created markets, such as VANS, local area networks. software engineering and telecommunications equipment leasing. Many of these satellite companies have joint partners -banks. electronics firms. engineering companies - bringing further expertise to N-IT. NIT’s Information Network System (INS, equivalent to an ISDN) is part of the overall move in Japan to create a true ‘information society’. Incorporating advancements such as digital transmission. switching and fibre optics, INS will be a full-service telecommunications system that will enable economical. large-volume rapid, transmissions of varied information with extremely high quality. A recently concluded study has provided essential information about users’ needs and reactions to the service. The completed system will incorporate a main 3 400 km fibre optic trunk line, much of which is already in place, connecting Japan’s major cities. Nationwide digital switching facilities are currently being installed. The departmentalization of NIT’s R&D resources and expertise has given the company enormous cumulative strength in R&D - a crucial area of operation. Inroads into the field of artificial intelligence have been made by NTT’s Electrical Communications laboratory. which has also introduced a high-performance system for use in software development.

405

Monitor The transformation from a government-regulated company into a private corporation has required bureaucratic departments to be transformed into independent business divisions, with the support N’IT’s employees. With a staff of over 300 000, NTT faced a formidable task to reach the goal of becoming a rationalized, full-service telecommunications com-

British broadcasting British broadcasting experts and civil servants met ministers and the Prime Minister on 21 September 1987 at a Downing Street summit to discuss the future of the UK broadcasting industry. The summit meeting indicates a move towards establishing a comprehensive broadcasting policy in the UK. This positive approach will undoubtedly cause concern for British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB). At stake is both reform of the existing commerical TV structure and the introduction of a new national TV channel and possible local stations. Perhaps more importantly, the UK is coming into line with France. West Germany and Italy where ‘new media’ is increasingly appearing as an extension of conventional terrestrial commercial TV. The current position facing the UK government is complex: Cable TV has failed to provide the prospects of multi-channel and competitive TV. With none of the English language channels yet making a profit, it is widely expected that some may fold. The successful formation of BSB represents a commitment by such organizations as the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) and the Home Office to direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS) TV. The introduction of new terrestrial channels is seen by BSB as a major competitive threat which could undermine it. However, BSB will not be able to provide more channels until the end of the decade

406

pany. One employee remarked upon the attainment of NTT’s targets as having been achieved ‘by learning to become masters of ourselves’.

Source: NIT London Representative Office. Level 9. City Tower. 40 Basinghall Street, London EC?V SDE, UK (Tel: 01-730 8153).

summit and, initially, will be primarily dependent on subscription revenues. Moreover. its penetration into the UK market will be slow and uncertain. The existing commercial terrestrial TV companies are perceived as protected monopolies, selling advertising air time, who make substantial profits and who have industrial relations practices which make them both inefficient and an anachronism to the Conservative government. The government is therefore under pressure from advertisers to increase supply of television air time. The IBA, which is both the regulator of the commercial companies and the provider of their transmitter system. is seen in many quarters as being too closely associated with the interests of the commercial companies. The problems of the BBC’s finances have turned out to be groundless. There appear to be sufficient terrestrial frequencies to provide a national UHF channel covering some 60-70% of the UK and VI-IF frequencies for local television. The government is committed to new broadcasting legislation to radically reshape the industry. and the broadcasting industry has been responding to this. It is now expected that the legislation will be more comprehensive and radical than envisaged. It now appears that Channel 4, owned by the IBA with advertising

time sold by the commercial TV companies. will be privatized. putting it into competition with the other commercial TV companies. The Prime Minister is understood to have rcjetted the option of turning the channel into a non-profit making trust, which could have helped preserve its public service broadcasting role. The privatization will now increase the supply of advertising air time as such. The existing commercial companies are in favour of the fifth national channel in the UHF frequency band. but do not want it to become operational until 1993, leaving only BSB to increase supply in the meanwhile. The ITV companies argue that rapid change of the structure of broadcasting could cause it considerable damage. The government is also understood to be considering abolishing the IBA and replacing it with a new regulatory agency charged with the responsibility of fostering more competition. It would perhaps favour more terrestrial TV channels and would have no initial commitment to DBS TV, which could cause further uncertainty for BSB. The development of new terrestrial services is seen by many specialists as the most fundamental problem for satellite TV in Europe. The new commercial TV stations have proved to be very aggressive in attracting audiences with popular programming as well as advertisers, still reluctant to use the specialized satellite TV channels. Source: It~terspce, 1987.

186, 21 September

Volatile industry Telecommunications continues to be a volatile industry of political significance. Recently. the Japanese government’s restriction of Cable and Wireless’s participation in Japanese network services has created discontent and conceivably led to British retaliation. In Britain, the return of the Conservative government will probably result in the sale of shares

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

POLICY

December

1987

worth about f8 billion, and privatization should increase competition and future prospects. STC. Racal. Plessey and Case, leaders in the field of telecommunications. have all seen a bruising drop in the share price, after the optimism of the early 1980s. A new financial analysis of the Telecommunications Industry Business Ratio Report explains that this lack of confidence parallels the overall tendency within the industry to review business strategies rather than push for profit, hoping for future success and new technological innovations. British Telecom is reported as still dominating network services, and the low margins of several smaller companies reflect the buying power of BT. Despite the decline in telecoms equipment sales and in electronics manufacturing as a whole, the large companies are pioneering new products later this year. STC are fast becoming leaders in the use of fibre optic transmission, the installation of which could effectively undermine the future of satellites in the years to come. As new cables span the oceans, competition should create a fall in transmission costs, and an increasing diversity of services available. Source: London 3906).

ICC, 28-42 Banner Street, EC17 8QE, UK (Tel: 01-253

Work starts on TAT 8 Work in Britain on laying the world’s first transatlantic optical fibre cable. TAT 8, started in September at Widemouth Bay in Cornwall. The UK shore end of the f220 million undersea system is being installed by staff from British Telecom International (BTI). The shore end of the cable will be floated ashore from a cableship, secured, and sunk into position by divers. The cableship will then move off to lay the remainder of the first 12km of the UK section of the cable. Finally, the section will be tested to ensure the work has been completed successfully. Next spring the main 520km UK section of TAT 8 will be laid by BTI’s cableship, CS Alert, using BTI’s remote-controlled plough, which will bury the cable beneath the seabed to protect it from damage by ships’ anchors and trawling. The UK section of the cable will be connected by a further 20km link to a special junction device on the ocean floor, S4Okm south of Widemouth Bay. This will join the UK cable to a similar section from France, connecting both to the main 5 OOOkm span of the cable to the USA. Work on the shore ends in France and the USA will soon be completed.

From Bundespost to Telekom The West German government plans to begin deregulating the country’s telecommunications market in 1989. A report on restructuring the Bundespost commissioned by the West German government, which took two and a half years to prepare, has recently been published. The Witte Commission recommends ending the Bundespost monopoly on telecommunications services and the supply of equipment, but says it should retain its network and telephone service monopoly. Mr Christian Schwarz-Schilling, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, gave a cautious welcome to the report, saying it would give the gov-

ernment ‘important insights’ into ways to restructure the Bundespost. The report will be evaluated in great detail by the Ministries of Posts, Finance, Economics, Justice and the Interior, before they make their own submission to the Cabinet early next year. Parliamentary debate will follow, and the restructuring of the Bundespost is due to begin in 1989, when it will be renamed Telekom. However, four of the 12 members of the commission who drew up the report, themselves wrote a report attacking the majority for not recommending greater liberalization. The report says that if the network and telephone service remain under the

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

December

POLICY

1987

When TAT 8 comes into service next summer it will have the potential capacity to carry the equivalent of 40 000 voice circuits, or their equivalent in data, text. facsimile. graphics or TV pictures. Mr Alan Jefferis. BTI’s Director of Satellite and Lines. said. ‘TAT 8 represents one of the most ambitious cable laying projects which has ever been undertaken. The technologies it involves and challenges it presents require solutions of pioneering proportions. The new system marks the launch of a new’ era in telecommunications technology. and its benefits will be open to every one of British Telecorn’s 22 million customers.’ A second transatlantic optical fibre cable is being planned to come into service in 1991. Called TAT Y. the $400 million system will have landing points in Britain, France, Spain, Canada and the USA. The cable’s main transatlantic section will have the capacity to carry 75 000 simultaneous phone calls.

Source: British Telecom Centre. Press and Broadcast Office, Floor A3. Xl Newgate Street. London ECIA 7AJ, UK (Tel: 01-726 4344).

Bundespost monopoly as recommended by the majority. 00% of West German telecommunications will not be subject to competition. ‘This will have far-reaching consequences for the whole telecommunications sector and for the competitiveness of the Federal Republic’. they say. They appreciate that the future will bring a dramatic increase in the importance of telecoms and they are ‘convinced that only replacement of the monopoloy with competition at all levels can lead to a market capable of withstanding the future’. Other critics of the government report say that the government’s intention is to reregulate and not to deregulate the market. The report’s recommendations have been considerably watered down re-

407

Monitor cently to satisfy conservatives and left-wingers on the commission. It is, in fact, a victory for the opponents of a full-scale reform: the left wing postal union, the right-wing Bavarian government and some large-scale equipment suppliers. Its most far-reaching recommendations involve merely opening the telecommunications equipment and services market to outside bidders. who will still have to compete with the Bundespost. Yet, even the report’s fairly moderate recommendations are likely to cause deep argument in the West German government, particularly among the conservative parties. Trade unionists say the recommendations could cost

Communication worldwide

Telekom should retain the network monopoly as long as it leases lines competitively. Otherwise. a competitor could be licensed after three years. Telekom should retain the monopoly on the telephone service, but all other services are opened to competition. Tariffs will be set by the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications in conjunction with the Ministry of

on the move

The second World Administrative Radio Conference for Mobile Services (WARC-MOB-87), convened by the International Telecommunication Union, took place in Geneva from 13 September to 16 October 1987. Its aim was to examine and revise the resolutions and recommendations of the Radio Regulations, laid down by the first WARC Conference in 1983. concerning mobile and mobile-satellite services, particularly in connection with the development of a Future Global Maritime Distress and Safety System. A report on WARC-MOB-87 will be published in the March 198X issue. While the market for mobile services in still in its infancy, there is increasing evidence throughout the world of its potential.

China The potential market for mobile communications systems is immense in a country like China, which has great geographical and technological barriers. The first mobile telephone system in China, installed by Ericsson. is now in operation. It will have a beneficial impact on developing industries, since it enables the exploitation of scarce resources. Work is currently in progress by Ericsson to install Chi-

408

10 000 of the Bundespost’s present SO0 000 jobs. The main recommendations are that:

na’s largest mobile telephone in southern China.

network

France The European Space Agency (ESA) is developing a mobile communications system linked to a satellite, called PRODAT. to be used across Europe in land vehicles. aircraft and small boats. In the first instance. the PRODAT system will provide only. a twoway data transmission capabihty. between the mobiles and their base stations. Demonstrations of this system have already begun and will run throughout 1988. Preliminary market studies reveal that there is an enormous unsatisfied demand for this type of service in Europe. All studies suggest that satellites providing mobile communications in Europe will complement existing and planned cellular radio networks.

Scandinavia The Scandinavia mobile data market is still in its infancy, with great expansion forecast. Almost one percent of all telephone subscribers have access to a mobile telephone. After five years the current Scandinavian mobile telephone system, NMT 350, is fully grown. It is now the world’s largest

Economics. The wide differences in tariffs - with trunk calls being hugely, expensive and local calls very cheap - should be reduced. Volume tariffs will also be reduced. The prices of equipment offered by Telekom or private companies will not require official approval. Telekom will be able to sell. rent and maintain telecommunications equipment. The Minister of Posts will try to simplify the equipment approval process. which. it is alleged. is used to keep out foreign competition. Source: September

Firlcr/lcirrl 1987.

Times

16 17

mobile telephone network. and has spread beyond Scandinavia to. among other countries. Malaysia. Singapore and Thailand. The introduction of a new complementary system. NMT 900, will result in improved communications. Sweden. Norway and Finland have agreed to go ahead with the first common system for mobile data communication. The system. called Mobitex. has been in operation in Sweden since October IYSh. and is the first public radio tcleconimunication network for text. vjoice and data. The Scandinavian telecommunication authorities have coopcrated for many years in developing mobile teleconmunications. Following the acceptance of the mobile telephone as an everyday business tool. the demand for mobile data telecommunications has increased. In addition. text and data transfer provides more efficient use than does speech of the available frequencies. To monitor developments, the Scandinavian joint committee for radio topics, NR. has set up a working group for the mobile data field. NR-MD, which will instigate the development of terminals and application systems for mobile data services in Scandinavia. Sources: British Telecom Mobile Communication, Ericsson. European Space Agency, Industrial News Service, International Telecommunication Union, Swedish Telecom.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

POLICY

December

1987

Mortitnr

Telecommunications Africa A feasibility study for the Regional Africa Satellite Communication System for the Development of Africa (RASCOM) has been set up with worldwide cooperation and help. It is cofinanced by contributions from West Germany, Italy. the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). and UNESCO. A long-term technical assistance loan has been granted by the African Development Bank, guaranteed by Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. The project is thus hailed as a real partnership between industrialized nations and the developing world. The study, commissioned by the African Ministers of Planning, Trans-

satellite for

port and Communication, aims to promote economic development. particularly in rural areas, through improvement in telecommunications facilities. In recognition of the need to promote African expertise. the RASCOM project will encourage the participation of nationals of every African country in the study, to assure practical transfer of skills and knowledge. One of the main tasks will be to ascertain long-term telecommunications requirements. as felt by existing telecommunications users. An examination will be made of the problem of access to telecommunications services, so that efficient and well managed communication infrastructural facilities can be provided to benefit

Third year sees expansion for PICT The UK Economic and Social Research Council has announced its plans for the third year of its activities. It has expanded its commitment to the Programme on Information and Communication Technologies (PICT) and increased the activities of the Central Co-ordinating Unit (CCU). PICT has become the Council’s major programme in its effort to encourage social science research that will inform policy decisions taken by government, industry and other UK institutions. Professor William Melody will continue as PICT Director for a third year. He has also been appointed Senior Research Associate at St Antony’s College, Oxford, where he will spend half his time doing research on PICT projects. The principle activities of the PICT CCU planned for Year III are: l

To ensure dination

effective

throughout

l

To establish

l

tive system tion. to establish

research

coor-

the network.

and manage

of research a programme

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

an effecdissemina-

search documentation on ICT for the social science research community. To establish ways for active researchers outside the PICT network to participate in and benefit from the PICT. To strengthen contacts with industry and government. To liaise with cofunders and promote additional cofunding opportunities. To provide assistance to institutions which were not selected as PICT centres, but which nonetheless desire to establish research centres and to investigate possibilities for establishing experimental PICT

centres.

To develop

collaborative

with PICT-type

relations

initiatives

in other

countries. To prepare for publication in Autumn 1988 an updated version of the National institutions

Directory

in other projects. To achieve this aim. -1X African countries have each set up a multidisciplinary National Coordination Committee, with the PTT as the focal point. The activities of the committee will be directed by a National Coordinator in each country. A small Project Office has been set up at the ITU headquarters in Geneva. from where parts of the study will be undertaken. The project will be given practical assistance by five supervising agencies: the ITU. the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). the Panafrican Telecommunication Union (PATU). the Union of African Postal and Telecommunications (UAPT). and the Union of National Radio and Television Organizations of Africa (URTNA). national

of research

and researchers

in the

field.

planning

Source: ITU, Press Office. Place des Nations, CH-I111 Geneva 20. Switzerland.

grown more rapidly than expected. The British Library and the Department of Trade and Industry have been cofunding PICT projects since Spring 1987. British Telecom recently decided to help fund the projects. Other cofunders from industry and government will be joining PICT in the future, and DES approval to accept cofunding from non-British organizations has been granted. Council of

has approved

three

new

Research

Centre

University

of Edinburgh;

of Management

versity

of Manchester for Research

and the Culture Brunei University.

Support

from all sectors

POLICY

December

1987

for PICT has

Institute

Uniof Sci-

(UMIST);

the

into Innovation of Technology. Selected from

among more than 30 applicants, new centres network.

will

The

Professor

centres

going

will work

and

with

detailed

be reviewed

to Council

these

the PICT

complete

Melody.

search plans will

the

the Depart-

Sciences,

ence and Technology

for final

and will Council

approval.

run for at least eight has committed

first

two

years

a

re-

before

The centres will begin in Autumn

f75 000 per annum

for re-

centres:

for Social Sciences.

ment

Centre

the selection

research

1987 years.

minimum

of

per centre for the of

operation,

and

409

MonitorlPublications fS0

000 thereafter. Additional funding will be sought towards an objective of flS0 OOtM200 000 per annum. The new centres will join existing centres at the Science and Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex: the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies, University of Newcastle upon Tyne; and the Centre for Communica-

tion and Information Studies, Polytechnic of Central London.

Solrrce: Economic and Social Research Council, 160 Great Portland Street, London WlN 6BA, UK (Tel: 01-637 1499).

Is satellite TV really launched? Since mercial

Telstar, satellite,

the

world’s was

first launched

com35

ago, there has been a growing interest in direct broadcasting by satellite (DBS). Ten years ago an international framework was agreed for DBS in Europe, to plan, encourage and monitor its development. There are now 20 000 satellite receivers installed in Europe, of which 3 500 are in the UK. In a study years

prepared by Communications and Information Technology (CIT) Research, it is projected that the figure will rise to 125 000 by 1990, reaching one million by 1995. It expects there to be the equivalent of $1.3 billion annual income from satellite receivers, more than half of which could come from business services - remote printing, videoconferencing, computer to computer communications. CIT

Publications Bridging the Gap III: A Guide IO Telecornmunications and Development (INTELSAT. Washington, DC, USA. 1987. 118~~) The Calculus of International Communications: A Study in the Political Econom.v of Transborder Data Flows by Meheroo Jussawalla and Chee-Wah Cheah (Libraries Unlimited, Inc. Littleton, CO. USA. 1987. 159 pp. $35.00 in USA, $42.00 elsewhere) Canadian Developments in Telecommunications: An Overview of Significant Contributions edited by Thomas L. McPhail and David C. Coil (The University of Calgary, Alberta, USA, 1986.245 pp) Cellular Radio and Mobile Communicrrtions, Proceedings of the 1987 European Conference (IBC Limited, Canada Road, Byfleet, Surrey, UK, 1987, 102 pp) Centrex: The Real Revolution in Telecornmunicafions, Conference Transcript (Communications Educational Services Ltd. 137 Dulwich Road, London SE24, UK, 1987. 99 PP) Communication and Informatiotl Technologies: Freedom of Choice for Latin America? by Armand Mattelart and Hcctor Schmucler (Ablex Publishing Corporation, Norwood, NJ, USA, 1987, 186 pp, f31 .oo)

410

Computerization and Development in Southeast Asia by Syed A. Rahim and Anthony J. Pennings (The Asian Mass Communication Research and Information Centre. 39 Newton Road, Singapore 1130, 1987, 196 pp. $11.00) Computers and Communications: A Vision of C&C hy Koji Kohayashi (The MIT Press. London. UK. 1985, I90 pp) Cosr Estimation for Software Development by Bernard Londeix (International Computer Science Series. Addison-Wesley Publishing Corporation, Wokingham, UK, 1987. 214 pp. f16.95) De~~eloping World Communications (Grosvenor Press International. London, UK, lY86, 596 pp) El Fururo de 1u.sTeie~omrnuni~a~i~~t~es espatiolas: Prospectiva y previsicin rechnoldgica by Emilio Lera Salso (Fundesco, c/ Serrano. 187-189, 28002 Madrid, Spain, 1986. 264 pp) The Emerging Service Economy edited by Orio Giarini (Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK. 1987. 29X pp, fZO.otJ) ESPRIT - The first Phase: Progress and Results (Commission of the European Communities, London, UK, 1987, 98 pp)

says that European satellites offer real opportunities for business services. perhaps more so than for TV where, it claims. DBS is still not off the launchpad. and none of the 25 satellite Euro-channels is yet profitable. a separate study, comHowever, piled by Pan European Television Audience Research (PETAR). claims that commercial satellite channels have dramatically changed viewing habits in Europe. The survey. carried out in 13 European countries by AGB Television International. illustrates the impact of satellite TV with encouraging statistics.

Source:

Susan Cadwallader. CIT Research Ltd. 1 Harewood Place. Hanover Square. London WI R OH A. UK (Tel: 01-493 9237): Julian Pounds, Chairman. PETAR. 19-21 Rathbone Place, London Wl. UK (Tel: 01-631 5050).

European Technological Collaboration. Chatham House Paper No 36 by Margaret Sharp and Claire Shearman (Routledge and Kegan Paul, London. UK. 1987. 132 pp, f5.95) Eurotelecom ‘86: Proceedings of the First Conference und Exhibition of the European Telecommunications (Ministry of Transport, Tourism and Communications. Stationery Office. Plaza San Juan de la Cruz. s/n, 28003 Madrid, Spain. 1987. 317 pp) Getting the Picture: A Guide to CATV and the new Electronic Media hy Stephen B. Weinstein (IEEE Press, New York. USA, 1986, 258 pp) Intellectual Property Rights in an Age oJ Electronics and Information (US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. Washington, DC, USA, 1986, 299 pp) The Interntrtionalisatiorl of Clerical Work: A Study of Offshore OJfice Services in the Caribbean by Annie Posthuma, SPRU Occasional Paper No 24 (Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex. Brighton, Sussex, UK, 1987, 72 pp) Legal Databases in Europe: User Attitudes and Supplier Strategies by Michael Lloyd (Elsevier Science Publishers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1986, 218 pp, $63.00) Managing Organizational innovation: Thr Evolution from Word Processing to Office Information Syslems by Bonnie McDaniel Johnson and Ronald E. Rice (Columbia University Press, New York, USA, 1987, 242 pp, $35.00)

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

POLICY

December

1987