Key issues in telecommunications planning

Telecommunications has emerged as a critical function playing a vital role in the business strategy of the organization. The deregulation of the industry, evolution of new technologies, rapid growth in the telecommunications market and use of telecommunications for competitive advantage have increased the uncertainty in the telecommunications environment. Strategic telecommunication planning has become a necessity in responding effectively to this dynamic and complex environment. A conceptual model of strategic telecommunications planning is proposed and, based on this model the various planning parameters are identified. An empirical survey of practicing telecommunications managers is carried out to determine the key issues in telecommunications planning, and the differences in planning characteristics across different groups. The results of the study indicate that planning managers mainly concentrate on factors related to ‘technology’ and ‘cost’ and place very little emphasis on ‘business’ oriented factors. The results also indicate that significant planning gap exist for most of the planning items.