ROMANIA’S REVOLUTION IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: A GEOGRAPHICAL APPROACH MIRELA MARIANA NAE, DAVID TURNOCK Department of Geography, Bucharest University, Nicolae Bălcescu Av, 1, 010041, Bucharest, Romania, Department of Geography, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester LE1 7RH, U.K. e-mail:
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[email protected] Abstract: Economic restructuring since 1989 has created an environment in which this economic branch has been able to expand through private enterprise; involving both the former state monopoly (through the creation and subsequent privatisation of Romtelecom – emerging from the communist PTTR organisation) and a fiscal regime conducive to private investment both domestic and foreign; not to mention appropriate regimes of licensing and regulation as well as stimulatory measures to accelerate the absorption of information technology. While development has been very rapid globally, Romania’s progress is particularly striking given the low priority for state investment in the 1980s coupled with the enthusiasm of consumers over the past decade and the commitments made by foreign investors. The paper provides a historical introduction before examining recent developments in telephony (both fixed and mobile), cable television and information technology; emphasising the diversity of methods for Internet access; based on material culled from the economic press throughout the post-1989 period. Attention is given to both domestic and foreign IT companies; noting location policies which emphasise not only Bucharest but also the country’s ‘metropoles’ which are very attractive on account of their accessibility and labour markets. Key Words: Cable Television; Computer Hardware/Software; Fixed Telephony; Foreign Investment; Information Technology; Internet; Mobile Telephony Introduction open and competitive market.