First published in 1997, this book contains contributions on policy aspects of networks from a multidisciplinary perspective, including economics, geography and transport science. Both material and immaterial networks are examined. Policy aspects refer mainly to interventions of the public sector in networks. In addition, the book examines the policies of other actors in shaping networks and the territorial effects of networks as a whole.

Transport Communications is a ground-breaking study into the future of transporting both people and goods more efficiently. The authors examine how existing modes of transport can be made more effective by the use of modern communications technology. Examples include RFID tags, which allow goods to be tracked electronically at every stage of their journey - from the point of manufacture to the point of delivery. They show how possible future developments will continue to revolutionize transport systems, leading to better, cleaner, more cost effective systems. For example, the concept of computer-controlled rail systems, such as London's Dockland Light Railway could be taken a stage further to apply to vehicles which don't run on rails; or the smart traffic control system in Milton Keynes which sense traffic flow and adjusts signal phasing accordingly.

This book looks at the economics of the evolving interface between the movement of people, goods and information (telecommunications). It illustrates the increasing importance of information flows in relation to how people move about, the ways that goods are transported and on land-use patterns. The authors show how the linkages involved are not static but vary as technology develops, as social priorities shift, and as policymakers adjust institutional structures. The situation is evolving but, nevertheless, from a public policy and a narrower commercial, business perspective, it is important to gain broad insights into what is occurring and the ways that telecommunications, transportation, and location interact. This is the focus of the book. Telecommunications, Transportation and Location contains both synthesis and interpretations of what others have found in regard to these interactions as well as new work that extends earlier findings. The material is presented in a rigorous yet accessible manner to open it to a wide audience of practitioners concerned with policymaking within various levels of government and within private business. Researchers and academics teaching courses including transportation planning, communications, regional science, urban and regional planning, urban and regional economics and transport economics will find much to engage them within this book. It will also be very useful to logistics professionals, and policymakers and practitioners involved in transportation planning.

Typically, communication technology breakthroughs and developments occur for the purposes of home, work, or cellular and mobile networks. Communications in transportation systems are often overlooked, yet they are equally as important. Communication in Transportation Systems brilliantly bridges theoretical knowledge and practical applications of cutting-edge technologies for communication in automotive applications. This reference source carefully covers innovative technologies which will continue to advance transportation systems. Researchers, developers, scholars, engineers, and graduate students in the transportation and automotive system, communication, electrical, and information technology fields will especially benefit from this advanced publication.

Europe is undergoing fundamental change as barriers and borders are broken down, as new technologies are introduced, and as the European Union expands. This study provides an overview of the present state of affairs. It has been written for a non-technical market and covers spatial, economic, telecommunications and political issues. The theoretical material is illustrated with individual case studies from a variety of European countries.

The volume offers new insights into the modeling and analysis of transportation and telecommunication networks, utilizing perspectives from North America, Europe and other areas of the world. It probes interesting questions that can help us to understand the dynamics of our modern networked society: Do properties found in one network fail to exist in other networks and are there geographic factors that can explain this? Are there social, economic or cultural factors that contribute to differences in network properties and dynamics across regions? Can planning models such as those used for traffic forecasting or freight demand modeling be universally applied to networks situated in different regions, and how should this problem be dealt with when a system spans multiple spatial locations? What are the implications for policy analysis and decision-making? These issues are related to the need for a transatlantic synthesis of current transport methods and their applications. The book attempts to offer a prospectus in this respect, together with the emerging reflections on the desirable future evolution of research.

Volume 2 of TERB 3ed covers the convergence of telephony and data transport, including wireless networks. Now that data is becoming the predominant source of traffic more efficient multiplexing schemes and more flexible control methods are needed in the transport network, such as giving the customer the ability to call for bandwidth on demand. With the development of control methods for switched data services it is now recognised that improved ways to control the transport network are possible and standards initiatives are taking place to establish and improve the network control layer. Detailed explanation of propagation in wireless and optical fibre systems requires a substantial amount of mathematics, also covered in this volume. For each of the math chapters there is an explanation of why the mathematics is important, where it is applied and references to other chapters.