THE BIG BUSINESS OF STANDARDISATION AND THE INTERNET: Resistance is not futile

M. I Franklin, Research Centre for International Political Economy, University of Amsterdam

1/01/2005
(Original Publish Date: 3/26/1999)

Technical standards for facilitating connections amongst the various Information and Communication technologies of contemporary multimedia and the process of standardisation itself is where an array of vested interests are competing for strategic control of the broader 'Global Information Infrastructure'. This is particularly so in the Internet domain given that the share value of Internet services and its public popularity continues to boom, as does its incorporation into everyday business and social interactions. This paper examines the relationship between these dynamics and standardisation/standards, as both technical and regulatory concerns, in the light of the Microsoft anti-trust trial currently underway in the USA.