Choosing New Telecommunications Technologies

Tradeoffs Between Conflicting Goals

Patricia M. Dinneen

Expert InsightsPublished 1981

This paper presents a general framework to explain how tradeoffs between conflicting goals may influence the choice of new telecommunications technologies. Six goals are considered: (1) economic efficiency, (2) security and privacy, (3) reliability and quality of service, (4) industrial stability, (5) international comity, and (6) technological innovation. Results of a case study involving a new technology, communications satellites, and an old one, undersea cables, illustrate how the general framework can help explain the level, mix, and cost of new, relative to existing, technologies. Tradeoffs between goals are reflected in regulatory policies — which affect pricing and investment behavior — which in turn determines the level and mix of cables and satellites.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1981
  • Pages: 29
  • Document Number: P-6612

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Dinneen, Patricia M., Choosing New Telecommunications Technologies: Tradeoffs Between Conflicting Goals. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1981. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P6612.html.
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