Telecommunications in rural Europe : Economic implications

This article outlines a study undertaken on behalf of the Commission of the European Communities by Analysys Ltd using advanced econometric modelling techniques. The main findings are that substantial aggregate employment gains are likely to result from investment in telecommunications and IT in Europe's rural economies. The cost of creating this new employment compares very favourably with other means. However, telecommunications operators may suffer considerable net cash outflows in the initial years of investment, so that it may be necessary to deploy some form of public assistance to get the investment off the ground.