nications investment in developed economies will not result in networks that are more cost efficient or energy efficient than the networks being replaced. This is not to say that these networks will be socially and economically unprofitable and/or that investment is not justified, but rather that the returns might take longer than anticipated and be more broadly based in terms of social rather than purely economic return, networks that be- come the connection engines of the information age, delivering benefits that with political will can be evenly distributed across developed, emerging and survival economies, a net gain for all. 12.2 From Difference Engine to Connection Engine Babbage's design in the 1830s embodied almost all the conceptual concepts of the modern electronic computer. The Babbage engine never quite worked in practice due to tolerancing problems and Babbage's tumultuous temper but it was intended to be a general-purpose machine that could be programmed with punched cards to perform almost any function. Figure 12.1 illustrates the complexity of this device. Similarly, the Automatic Computing Engine and Cray Super Computer were described as general-purpose machines but were applied to a very specific purpose, both were used to model and analyse the behaviour of atomic explosions. Modern cellular networks are similar in that they have had a general purpose, providing person to person connectivity but are now evolving into being broader multipurpose delivery platforms. However, at heart a cellular network is still a connection engine. Moore's law has powered the cellular industry to the point where a cellular or fixed line switch that would fill up a large room in the 1980s can now be fitted in a box that can shipped by lorry or air lifted to deliver instant emergency communication into disaster zones. Although voice communication has to date been the predominant application, these networks are now beginning to do far more both in terms of imaging and video and data. We have come to assume that each g