(GPRS) from anywhere, for ease of ubiquitous (1995-2005) mobile has created a whole calling and specifically for personal new subscriber base, double that of fixed security (linked to 50% of sales). line and so revised over 100 years of infrastructure. It has also provided infrastructure competition to fixed line calling. Broadband long distance Cost and technical (ease of upgrading backbone, national capacity) for growing international Major - reduced real costs of a voice call and international with SDH data traffic, especially Internet users by several orders of magnitude protocols over fibre networks after 1996/7 as World Wide Web interface (cf. transatlantic voice call cost with WDM made the Internet popular. of provision, 1946-20051). Broadband local loop technology Technocentric early drive (pre-2002) Slowly becoming more important. largely over traditional (CCITT) and so rollout exceeded demand; later, tels networks (FTTH, FTTC, DSL after 2004, end user demand for higher and radio, mobile or fixed) bandwidth access became real as Internet but also CATV usage increased. WiFi, from non-operator - centric Dual drivers - push from microprocessor Large, slowly becoming more important organisations (hotels, airports, supplier Intel to sell PCs -and demand as WiFi hubs spread and VolP becomes municipalities, etc.) as well as for Internet access from nomadic users, better in quality. traditional operators especially for data transport and more recently for voice, with VolP (Skype, Vonage). 1. S. Forge, "The macroeconomic effects of near-zero tariff telecommunications", multi-client study, SCF Associates, Paris, 1998. INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 © OECD 2006 2. TELECOMS INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030 supply-side has declined in power. It is worth noting that in the OECD community, local loop broadband is now growing much faster than mobile did in its early days as shown in the figure below on the takeup of services. Figure 2.3. Broadband takeup over first 10 y