Systematically reviews recent innovations in the economic theory of pricing and extends results to the conditions which characterize telecommunications markets

Busy decision-makers need the specifics quickly, without plowing through details that do not affect the economics of a project. Telecommunications Cost Management presents the key facts up front, with sample calculations for broadband, local access, equipment, and service alternatives. It provides a blueprint for cost reduction across all major technologies - from frame relay to IP telephony to contract recommendations. The text presents scenarios showing the effect of different architectural strategies for both voice and data communications. An Architectural Review lists alternatives to the traditional PBX and discusses how to minimize local access costs.

This edited book serves as a companion volume to the Seventh INFORMS Telecommunications Conference held in Boca Raton, Florida, March 7-10, 2004. The 18 papers in this book were carefully selected after a thorough re view process. The research presented within these articles focuses on the latest methodological developments in three key areas—pricing of telecommunica tions services, network design, and resource allocation—that are most relevant to current telecommunications planning. With the global deregulation of the telecommunications industry, effective pricing and revenue management, as well as an understanding of competi tive pressures are key factors that will improve revenue in telecommunica tions companies. Chapters 1-5 address these topics by focusing on pricing of telecommunications services. They present some novel ideas related to pricing (including auction-based pricing of network bandwidth) and modeling compe tition in the industry. The successful telecommunications companies of the future will likely be the ones that can minimize their costs while meeting customer expectations. In this context the optimal design/provisioning of telecommunication networks plays an important role. Chapters 6-12 address these topics by focusing on net work design for a wide range of technologies including SONET, SDH, WDM, and MPLS. They include the latest research developments related to the mod eling and solving of network design problems. Day-to-day management/control of telecommunications networks is depen dent upon the optimal allocation of resources. Chapters 13-18 provide insight ful solutions to several intriguing resource allocation problems.

Phone systems, service, data networks, and the Internet are critical pieces of any company’s communications. And most IT professionals don’t understand the effects of deregulation and parallel technologies on the bottom line. Telecommunications companies have more than a 30% error rate on their billing each month. There are only about 4,000 telecom consultants in the country who do nothing but find errors on bills. The economy seems to be crying out for just this type of study. This work explores the various technologies in terms of cost and ROI, sets up some case studies to solve real communications issues, offers cheap ways to meet bandwidth requirements, looks at the players in the marketplace in terms of technology as well as cost, explains what a tariff is and how it can be made to work for you, gives a better understanding of telecom taxes, which ones are required and to what degree, and provides international strategies to manage costs of a national and global network. Reading this book will be like hiring that telecom consultant. ·SAVINGS!!! – realize 40-60% savings with the information contained in the book ·“Show me the money” demo included·Review – assessing bills to know if you’re overpaying·Analysis – benchmarking, comparative technologies, ROI, tariff info, etc.·Negotiation – how to work with your various services to ensure you’re getting the best rates possible·Cost Justification – finding costs in other areas to justify expenditure in technology·Vendor Management – understanding where and how to go to get the best price·Recovery of capital – finding out if and when you’ve overpaid, and getting back $ when it’s due·Tax Rebates, Relocations, Growth Assessment, and Telemanagement – exploring all the angles to get the most of your telecom dollars

Here's a practical cost management guide to the complex world of voice, data and wireless telecommunications for the non-technical business professional. Examining the complex, highly technical telecommunications industry from an insider's point of view, it sifts through all the technical jargon, offers a comprehensive education on the applications, services and procurement of telecom products, and provides a strategy to effectively manage the costs of those products and services. The book enables you to: understand telecom services; audit phone bills; reduce the cost of existing services and eliminate unnecessary ones; and efficiently negotiate new contracts and services. This informative resource explains how providers of telecommunications services interwork and compete, focusing on pricing structures and options. Each section of this volume contains cost management advice, explains the technologies and service offerings of carriers, and illustrates complex concepts with case studies of companies in today's marketplace. Filled with cost management charts and graphics, problems to solve, and featuring an extensive reference section with terms and PIC codes, the book gives you the necessary tools to understand and reduce telecommunication costs.

The authors analyze regulatory reform and the emergence of competitionin network industries using the state-of-the-art theoretical tools ofindustrial organization, political economy, and the economics ofincentives.

This book provides a broad introduction to all aspects of modern telecommunications networks, covering the principles of operation of the technology and the way that networks using this technology are structured. The main focus is on those technologies in use today and the next generation networks (NGN) and how they will be implemented.