A private view of the digital world

Abstract

Surveying the movement towards digitization of communications, the authors of this article identify two conflicting models of development. The first, which they term the in-house model, is the extension of private networks controlled by the major corporate users of telecommunications; the second, epitomized by ISDN, aims to update the public telephone network. Examination of trends over the past 30 years shows that the in-house model is triumphing almost everywhere. The advantages to the Western corporations and financial institutions are obvious, but the supposed benefits to the less-developed countries, in particular, could be a cruel illusion.