The Impact of the Internet on Telecommunication Architectures

The ever-growing popularity of the Internet is dramatically changing the landscape of the communications market place. The two separate worlds of the Internet and Telecommunications are converging. The respective advantages of the two environments are being integrated to fulfill the promise of the information super-highways. In this paper, we examine the impact of the Internet on the main telecommunication architectures, namely the IN, the TMN and TINA. There are two new tendencies for implementing telephony services in combination with the Internet: running part of the control sys tem over the Internet, or conveying both the user data and the control information over the Internet. We examine these two trends, and elaborate on possible ways of salvaging the best parts of the work achieved by the TINA-Consortium in the Internet context

The influence of standardisation and regulation on the development of intelligent networks

In today’s global economy a flexible and responsive telecommunications infrastructure is essential to the maintenance and development of a country’s economy. Within a free market, such an infrastructure depends upon the use of common standards; either imposed as a consequence of regulation or evolved through the operation of the market. This thesis investigates the influence of regulation and standardisation on Intelligent Network telecommunications technology by addressing the hypothesis: Tight architecture-based regulation is inappropriate for a rapidly changing telecommunications environment, since that environment is continually challenging and redefining the boundaries of technological change. The multi-method approach adopted is based upon triangulation to identify multiple viewpoints. A Stakeholder Analysis was employed to help categorise those with an interest in Intelligent Networks and provide a basis for data collection. The primary data was gathered using a combination of surveys and interviews. The thesis illustrates a wide range of original research. A unique analysis framework was constructed to identify a number of factors, including technical and commercial influences and their impact on the choice of IN architecture and the implementation of regulations. This framework offers a new perspective with which to view IN architectures; leading to the development and implementation of alternative IN architecture models. A number of these architectures have been constructed, together with some novel services, to demonstrate what could be achieved by employing flexible, less detailed standards, or making use of proprietary protocols. The research concludes that tight regulation is not appropriate for Intelligent Network technology. Instead, encouragement for implementation and interconnection is better shaped through the development and adoption of de-jure standards

Dominant designs in complex technological systems - A longitudinal case study of a telecom company 1980-2010

The different processes used to innovate and produce successful products and services for companies and define service and even industry architectures ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­–dominant designs— have received significant scholarly interest. This study sheds light on this process to understand the evolutionary character of dominant designs within complex technological systems.  To do so, it provides longitudinal empirical study of a telecommunications industry and the Nordic case company Sonera from 1980-2010. The units of analysis are Sonera's major businesses, products and strategy that intertwine with industry. To understand the evolution of dominant designs in complex technological systems, theoretical discussion, the management and sociology of technology, an economics perspective, and dynamic capabilities are utilized. The findings identify the key sources of innovation and the processes that drive managers in a multi-product firm to manage its dominant designs successfully. The findings indicate that the likely sources of innovation (and their variations) lead to the rejection of old dominant designs and the emergence of new ones. A key finding is that these sources of innovation produce a shift to a customer/market orientation from a R&D and science orientation as the industry evolves into a more open and horizontal market form. At the same time, the role of the incumbent multi-product firm diminishes, and that of vendors and niche players strengthens. Moreover, the research identifies the most important building blocks that can lead to the successful creation of a new dominant design.  Evidence of change in the relative roles or contributions of various building blocks was seen, depending on the overall life-cycle evolution of the industry and the specific organization. Finally, the role and nature of  firm's products as complex technological systems for shaping the process and outcomes related to dominant designs was seen as important. Instead, new dominant designs emerge in systems characterized by industry convergence when the new technology aligns with the capabilities and incentives of the receiving unit. This study is a rare example of extensive longitudinal data being analyzed both at the company and an industry level in strategic marketing studies. The study thus contributes by creating a framework for the adaptation of dominant designs. The integration of dynamic capabilities, sensing, seizing, and transformation framework to ongoing industry evolution is especially valuable.Erityyppiset innovaatioprosessit jotka tuottavat menestyksekkäitä tuotteita ja palveluita yrityksissä, jopa määrittelevät palvelu ja toimiala-arkkitehtuureja – dominant designeja- ovat herättäneet tutkimuksellista kiinnostusta. Tämä tutkimus valaisee tätä innovaatioprosessia jotta ymmärrys dominant designeista kompleksisten teknologisten systeemien kontekstissa lisääntyy. Tutkimus on historiallinen empiirinen kuvaus telekommunikaatiotoimialasta ja kohdeyritys Sonerasta, Pohjoismaisesta telealan yrityksestä, ajanjaksolla 1980-2010. Analyysikohteet ovat Soneran merkittävimmät liiketoiminnat, tuotteet ja strategia jotka muokkaantuvat vuorovaikutuksessa toimialaevoluution kanssa. Jotta evoluutiota voidaan ymmärtää kompleksisissa teknologisissa systeemeissä seuraavat teoreettiset keskustelut on valittu keskeisiksi: teknologian johtaminen ja sosiologia, taloustieteellinen näkökulma sekä dynaamiset kyvykkyydet. Tutkimuksen löydökset paikallistavat innovaatioiden päälähteet ja prosessit, jotka mahdollistavat yrityksen johdolle dominant designien menestyksekkään hallinnan. Muuttuvat innovaatioiden lähteet ajavat yritykset hylkäämään vanhat dominant designit ja kehittämään uudet. Avainlöydös on että innovaatioiden lähteet muuttuvat asiakas- /markkinaorientointuneiksi tutkimus- ja tiedelähtöisestä samalla kun toimiala kehittyy avoimemmaksi ja horisontaaliseksi. Samaan aikaan vakiintuneen monituoteyrityksen rooli vähenee ja toimittajien/alihankkijoiden sekä 'markkinarakoyritysten (niche)' rooli kasvaa. Lisäksi, tutkimus paikallistaa tärkeimmät tekijät/rakennuspalikat jotka voivat johtaa menestyksekkääseen dominant designin luontiin. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin lisäksi että dominant design rakennuspalikoiden suhteellinen rooli ja vaikutus muuttui toimialan ja yrityksen evoluutiosta johtuen. Lopuksi, dominant designien systeeminen luonne vaikutti innovaatioprosessiin ja lopputuloksiin. Sen sijaan että puhuttaisiin vain yhden tuotteen luonnista, tulee ottaa huomioon toimialan konvergenssi, joka mahdollistaa uuden teknologian omaksumisen ja kaupallistamisen yli teknologisten raja-aitojen. Tämä tutkimus on harvinainen esimerkki laajamittaisesta pitkittäisestä datan analysoinnista yrityksen ja toimialan tasolla strategisen markkinoinnin tutkimusalalla. Tutkimus edistää innovaatioprosessin ymmärrystä luomalla viitekehyksen dominant designien omaksumiseen. Erityisesti dynaamisten kyvykkyyksien integraatio (sensing, seizing, transforming) toimialan evoluutioon on arvokasta

Harmonized Methods for Assessing Carbon Sequestration in European Forests

The MASCAREF (Study under EEC 2152/2003 Forest Focus regulation on developing harmonized methods for assessing carbon sequestration in European forests) project was conducted by a consortium of 10 European institutions coordinated by IFER ¿ Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research, Czech Republic. The overall objective of this project was to contribute to the development of a monitoring scheme for carbon sequestration in forests of the European Union (EU). Specifically, the project aimed at i) strengthening and harmonizing the existing national systems to better meet the requirements of international monitoring and reporting of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and sinks and ii) improving the comparability, transparency and accuracy of the GHG inventory reports of the Land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector of the EU Member States, as implemented in the EC Monitoring Mechanism. This project represents a step towards addressing the challenges of GHG inventories and the reporting under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto protocol related to forest land and forest activities. Reflecting the heterogeneity in land use, natural conditions and monitoring data availability, there is a wide variety in greenhouse gas reporting practices within the European Community, which becomes clearly apparent from an overview of the current GHG reporting practices prepared by MASCAREF. The particular tasks of the project were based on available data from regional, national and EU-wide projects and relevant activities that took place over the last decade. The project elaboration was conducted within several major tasks, followed by selected regional case-studies. Firstly, the currently available data and methodological approaches to estimate carbon stock and carbon stock change for emission inventories were analyzed. Secondly, the project conducted an analysis of ICP Forests health monitoring and Forest Focus programs. Similarly, it assessed the potential of utilizing data from the European National Forest Inventories for the purpose of emission inventory under UNFCCC and the Kyoto protocol. Related to this, the JRC AFOLUDATA website on biomass functions and conversion/expansion factors http://afoludata.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.php/public_area/home) was complemented by adding new factors from the European member states. Also, the methodologies to aggregate the forest carbon stock data based on the National Forest Inventory plots to a 10x10 km grid were explored. Finally, several of the above tasks were elaborated and/or applied in case studies in the selected regions of Europe. The MASCAREF project fulfilled its main objectives and its results should facilitate a further development of monitoring schemes for carbon stock change assessment in forests of the European member states, hopefully leading to an improved GHG reportingJRC.DDG.H.2-Climate chang