Dissertation Information for Milton MuellerNAME:
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SCHOOL: ADVISORS: COMMITTEE MEMBERS: MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected Title: The telephone war: Interconnection, competition, and monopoly in the making of universal telephone service, 1894-1920
Abstract: The dissertation is a historical and theoretical study of competition between the Bell and independent telephone systems between 1894 and 1920. It is concerned with the historical origins of telephone monopoly in the U.S., and with the unique dynamics of competition between unconnected or incompatible communications networks. The study focuses on the competing networks' refusal to interconnect with each other, exploring the economic and communicative consequences of fragmented telephone communications. Two bodies of theory provided the foundation for the study's method: the ""network externality"" literature in Economics and the probabilistic models of interdependent demand developed by W. Brian Arthur. The dynamics of network competition are illustrated by means of an urn model. Unlike previous efforts, this urn model incorporates the possibility of nonuniform calling patterns and user duplication. In order to display the actual scope of telephone competition and to evaluate theories about the role of long distance connections in the competitive struggle, maps of the telephone access universes of three cities at various points in time were constructed. |
MPACT Scores for Milton MuellerA = 2 Advisors and Advisees Graph |