Over the past century the United States, Britain, and Germany have taken different approaches to the development of public telecommunications and have built different telecommunications systems and capabilities. To account for such differences in trajectory and outcome, this project will examine how material, economic, cultural and social conditions have shaped the meaning of telecommunications technologies. In contrast to purely cultural studies of technology, this work will look closely at the technological artifacts in their contexts, through comparative case studies of components. It will also analyze the strategies employed by innovators to incorporate different groups of users into public telecommunications networks and will compare such strategies across nations. Finally, by examining the history of telecommunications to the present the study will provide insight into the gains and losses society might expect from future changes.
