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Abstract
This article surveys global communication trends at the dawn of the commercial internet and satellite liberalization, focusing on implications for developing countries. It chronicles the diffusion of satellite television, early data networks and mobile telephony, showing how new platforms altered agenda setting, advertising markets and cultural flows. The study highlights opportunities—distance education, market information for farmers, diaspora connections—alongside risks such as ownership concentration, content homogenization and regulatory capture. It argues that access, affordability and local content are the decisive variables for inclusive benefits. The paper proposes policy tools: interconnection rules, community media support, spectrum auctions that fund universal service, and public-interest obligations for dominant networks to preserve pluralism and emergency communication capacity.
Full Text
The body traces three technological waves. First, satellite TV broke terrestrial monopolies and created cross-border markets; case studies demonstrate both consumer surplus and pressures on local content industries. Second, packet-switched data networks enabled email, bulletin boards and early web services; the paper describes bottlenecks in international gateways and last-mile infrastructure that inflated costs. Third, mobile telephony began scaling, delivering leapfrog potential where fixed lines were scarce. The regulatory section discusses independent authorities, transparent licensing, and wholesale access that lowers entry barriers while preserving investment incentives. A content section explores language diversity, news agency dependence, and the economics of local production. The final section lays out an action plan: targeted subsidies for rural access, school connectivity, national research and education networks, and media literacy. Together these interventions mitigate power asymmetries and turn communication technology into a broad-based development platform.