State of Telecommunications in Developing Countries--An Overview

This paper examines the state of telecommunications in developing countries with special emphasis on telecommunication technology and telephone statistics such as number of telephones, telephone density and demand. First, the notion of a developing world is formulated in terms of social and economic conditions, and its existing telecommunication needs are reviewed. Then the state of telecommunication is portrayed in terms of various international telephone statistics and is compared with those of the industrialized world. Typical government-controlled telecommunication organizations responsible for providing telephone services, associated manpower, and training needs are then discussed. The technology is reviewed from the viewpoint of local capabilities, ancillary industries, and foreign know-how as well as the pricing policy for telecommunication services, based on highly unsatisfied demand. At the end, two aspects of telecommunication in developing countries are explored: 1) the administrative aspect that emphasizes growth and production, and 2) the users aspect that represents a long waiting period, heavy investment, poor voice quality, and inadequate maintenance.