ABSTRACT

Ithiel Pool had a keen interest in the subject of American global competitiveness and the way in which it interacts with international telecommunications policy – as he had, indeed, in all matters of international telecommunications policy. In this chapter, the author reviews some basic economics to show the direct link between protectionism in telecommunications phenomenon and the United States federal deficit. The American budget deficit is almost exclusively funded by bonds, which are debt, and the American people as private citizens and businesses have traditionally kept the lending-borrowing equation in balance. In relation to the telecommunications industry, one must have sympathy with the argument that America has liberalized its market in terms of access to foreign supply much more than almost any other country in the world. Liberalization of procurement policies is being closely linked to liberalization in internal competition policies on the provisions of networks, value-added service, and terminal equipment, although there is no absolutely logical link.