Curriculum Telecom & the Connected Economy
Telecom & the Connected Economy
The economics of phones and the internet - spectrum auctions, India's Jio price war, consolidation, net neutrality, mobile phones and development, 5G, undersea cables, shutdowns and accessible telecom.
- The Telecom Industry How mobile and internet companies make money, why the industry needs huge investment, and why governments regulate it closely. 📄 Read-aloud
- Spectrum Auctions How governments sell radio spectrum to mobile operators through auctions, why design matters, and India's history from the 2G controversy to modern auctions. 📄 Read-aloud
- The Jio Price War How Reliance Jio's entry in 2016 with free calls and cheap data transformed India's telecom market and digital economy. 📄 Read-aloud
- From Many Operators to Three How India's crowded mobile market shrank to three main private operators, the role of debt and court rulings, and concerns about competition. 📄 Read-aloud
- Net Neutrality The principle that internet providers should treat all online traffic equally, the economic arguments for and against, and India's strong net neutrality rules. 📄 Read-aloud
- Mobile Phones and Development How the spread of mobile phones improved markets, incomes and access to services in developing countries, with the famous study of Kerala's fishermen. 📄 Read-aloud
- Telecom & the Connected Economy: Checkpoint 1 Quick checkpoint - five questions on telecom costs, spectrum, Jio, consolidation and net neutrality. 5 questions
- The Economics of 5G What 5G networks offer, why they are expensive to build, and the debate over whether consumers and businesses will pay enough to justify the investment. 📄 Read-aloud
- Undersea Cables: The Internet's Hidden Backbone How cables on the ocean floor carry almost all international internet traffic, who builds them, and why they matter for economies and security. 📄 Read-aloud
- Universal Service: Connecting Unprofitable Areas How governments fund telecom networks in remote and rural areas that private companies would not serve profitably, and India's Digital Bharat Nidhi. 📄 Read-aloud
- Tower Companies and Infrastructure Sharing How separate companies that own mobile towers, and sharing infrastructure between operators, lower the cost of telecom networks. 📄 Read-aloud
- The Economic Cost of Internet Shutdowns Why governments sometimes cut internet access, how often it happens, and the costs to businesses, students and citizens. 📄 Read-aloud
- Accessible Phones and Telecom Services How phones and telecom services are made usable for blind, deaf and other disabled people, and why accessibility matters for telecom markets. 📄 Read-aloud