ABSTRACT

The resulting implications for the new or- more accurately- the network economy are exemplified by the introduction and development of a new generation of personal satellite communication systems (S-PCS-systems). The S-PCS-systems are operated by means of low earth orbit satellites (LEOs), and their system architecture is more highly developed and economically more efficient than the previous geo-stationary satellite systems. In the field of mobile telephones, S-PCS-systems provide worldwide reachability under only one number. The new regulatory networks will be based on time-dependent stability, will no longer be ordered territorially but functionally, and will largely proceed from co-operation with private actors. The specific task of a new public law could and should consist in maintaining and enhancing the variability of linkages between different technologies. The development of the network economy shows that public law has in the future to look for a connection with the processes of self-organization and self-regulation that spring up along the technological paths of modern society.