Network Neutrality: Switzerland's Role in the Genesis of the Telegraph Union, 1855-1875

ISBN-13: 9783034315272 / Angielski / Miękka / 2014 / 227 str.

Gabriele Balbi; Simone Fari; Giuseppe Richeri

Opis

This book uses new sources to indepth the early history of the Telegraph Union (today the International Telecommunication Union) and focuses on the key role political, diplomatic, economic and technical Switzerland played in promoting its birth and managing its structures during the ten years preceding and following its creation (1855 1875). The history of the ITU tends to be neglected in telecommunication history and the role of Switzerland in its formation and management has been largely overlooked. This is surprising for three reasons: first, it was (and still is) the seat of the Bureau; second, until World War Two the secretary was a Swiss national; finally, the Bureau was under the direct control of the Swiss government. The main statement of this book is that the political economy of Switzerland, based on neutrality, diplomacy, internationalism and technical expertise, exerted a decisive influence over the origins of the ITU."

Spis treści

Contents: Switzerland takes on telecommunications. The politics, economics, technology and society of the period - «Bringing together the two large electric currents dividing Europe» (1849-1865) - The birth of the Telegraph Union: the 1865 Paris Conference - The 1868 Vienna Conference - Towards Rome Conference: Moves and Counter-moves (1868-1872) - The Bureaucratisation of the Telegraph Union: St Petersburg (1875).

O autorze

Gabriele Balbi is Assistant Professor at the Università della Svizzera italiana (Switzerland); Simone Fari is Assistant Professor at Universidad de Granada (Spain); Giuseppe Richeri is Full Professor at the Università della Svizzera italiana; Spartaco Calvo works at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI).