Analysts and policy makers have made increasing use of patent indicators to analyse the rate and direction of technological activity. The Patents Manual, issued in 1994, provides information on how patent data can be used as indicators, and also shows how these can be linked to other statistics...

This paper provides an overview of developments in optical fibre communication technology and investment. It finds that the costs of deploying these networks are significant and that the monthly prices subscribers will pay will be highly dependent on take-up rates.