 the developed and developing countries of the world in the near to medium future. Broadband telecommunications will remain a significant part of our lives. Review Questions 1. Why did the Persians build the Royal Highway? 2. The cost of building the Royal Highway must have been quite high. Why do you see the trade-off considerations for the Persian Empire vis-à-vis this cost at the design stage? What technological, business and policy issues had to be addressed in building the Royal Mail system? 4. How can the technology, business and policy framework be useful in analysing telecom- munications systems? 5. What are the three layers in a broadband content/service provision system? How do these relate to each other? 6. Although telecommunications comprises only 3-4% of global GDP, the share of global patent applications in 2013 was nearly 7%. Explain two reasons why this is the case. What are the drivers behind the phenomenal growth of mobile and broadband subscriber numbers around the world? Why is the mobile subscriber number growth in the developing countries larger than that of the developed countries? 9. What do you see as the reasons for the growth of ICT jobs around the world? Why do you see the importance of studying telecommunications management? How does this relate to the broader topic of information and information technology management? References http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/museum/1e_faqs.html#history10,accessed 4 February 2014. [2] Graf, D.F. (1994) The Persian Royal Road System, cited in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Road, accessed 20 August 2015. [3] http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historical/shepherd/persian_empire.jpg, accessed 20 August 2015. [4] http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/historians/herod/herodotus7.html, accessed 20 August 2015. [5] Estuanie, E. (1904) Traite Pratique de Telecommunications Electrique, cited in Huurdeman, A.A. (2003) The Worldwide History of Telecommunications, Wiley Interscience. Introduction [6] Anonymous (1928) World's Oldest Letter, The Canberra Times (31 May), 