Global Superhighways: The Future of International Telecommunications Policy

by Vince Cable

The changes currently under way in communications technology are as profound and complex as the developments in roads, railways, canals and shipping in the 19th century which contributed to the industrial revolution. The main difference today is the lightning speed at which these changes are occuring. The pace of this communications revolution is beginning to blur the boundaries of the industry, so that several formerly distinct sectors are computers, telecommunications, cable TV, broadcasting, wireless communications and publishing. This paper deals with one aspect of a story which is at the heart of all current the creation of a system of global rules and regulations for telecommunications. The regulatory frameworks currently in place are rudimentary, and thus the most "global" of activities has one of the weakest global public policy regimes. This volume asks what issues of public policy are involved at an international level, particularly in a new environment where there is greater emphasis on competition and the private sector rather than national public monopolies, and where multimedia, rather than telecommunications as traditionally defined, is the dominant concept.

68 pages, Paperback

First published October 31, 1995

About the author

John Vincent "Vince" Cable is a British politician and Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He was the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills from 2010 to 2015 and the Member of Parliament for Twickenham from 1997 until losing his seat in the 2015 election. He regained his seat in the 2017 election and became leader of the Liberal Democrats soon after.

Cable studied economics at the University of Cambridge and the University of Glasgow, before becoming an economic advisor to the Government of Kenya between 1966 and 1968 and to the Commonwealth Secretary-General in the 1970s and 1980s. From 1968 to 1974 he lectured in economics at Glasgow University. Later, he served as Chief Economist for Shell from 1995 to 1997. In the 1970s Cable was active in the Labour Party, becoming a Labour Councillor in Glasgow. In 1982 he joined the Social Democratic Party – which later joined with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats – and he unsuccessfully stood for Parliament in the general elections of 1970, 1983, 1987 and 1992 before being elected as the MP for Twickenham in 1997.

Cable became the Liberal Democrats Treasury Spokesman in June 2003, and was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats in March 2006, becoming Acting Leader for two months in 2007 following Sir Menzies Campbell's resignation until the election of Nick Clegg. He resigned from both of these position in May 2010 after becoming Business Secretary.