the service to retail customers. Were a company to outsource retailing to dedicated agents, it would retain a consid- erable measure of control, just as, for example, insurance companies contract with dedicated agents. Alternatively, a company can outsource retailing through con- tracts with independent distributors who provide additional services. For example, automobile manufacturers form agreements with dealers who also provide repair services in addition to marketing and sales. The provision of wholesale services to competitors involves additional problems such as possible displacement of the firm's own retail sales. However, it is still useful to view wholesale access as analogous to outsourcing of distribution. Generally, the retail function is outsourced in a competitive market if the transaction costs of dealing with independent retail distributors are less than the organizational costs of dedicated retail within the organization. The firm compares the transaction costs of relying on others with the costs of doing it itself. There is little inherent in telecommunications technology that should prevent outsourcing of the retail function. Indeed, cell phone networks sign up customers through all kinds of independent resellers, including electronics retailers such as Best Buy, Circuit City, or Radio Shack. The Coasian make-or-buy decision is applied to the choice of whether or not to vertically integrate downstream into retailing. Companies solve this problem in different ways. Most manufacturers rely on independent wholesalers and retailers. Franchise operators, particularly in the restaurant business, often contract with independent owner-operators for retail activities. Most apparel is sold through independent retailers, although a few clothing chains that operate retail and whole- sale distribution choose also to manage contracts for manufacturing or even to Networks in Telecommunications make their own clothing. In services, such as the insurance industry, the use of an internal sales force versus exter