The evolution of telecommunications and the associated economic models

Telecommunication networks are occupying an increasing role in our daily life: almost everything is now available from the Internet (possibly via a mobile phone), and getting this kind of access has even become compulsory for some administrative operations, without mentioning the social pressure to be part of the trend. While the telephone network started commercially in 1877 following the birth of the Bell Telephone Company, and its development slowly democratized, mobile networks have since the 1970s quickly come to occupy a major place, with an estimated 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide at the end of 2010. It is also estimated by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in its report “The World in 2010,” that 90% of the global population can reach a wireless network. In the same report, the Internet is also shown to be an increasing market worldwide, with the number of subscribers having doubled between 2005 and 2010, reaching more than two billion at the end of 2010 (1.6 billion having access at home). To highlight this growth, the average household telecommunications budget has considerably increased, counting wired and wireless telephony subscriptions (with often a wireless subscription per member of the family), Internet access, television, etc., with a role that is becoming compulsory for operations such as access to information and to documentation, and making declarations (taxes, etc.).