Speaking to analysts after BT's first quarter results, Livingston insisted his ministerial role would give him no say over telecoms matters.
As Alex Shalaby, MobiNil's chairman, explained why telecoms matter, "The "teledensity" levels are indirectly correlated with Human Development Index indicators" such as health, education, and adult literacy.
She has quietly assembled a national network of tech and telecom advisers, subject matter experts and influencers in the entrepreneurial sphere.
Unlike in telecoms, distance still matters: the farther electricity has to travel, the more is lost in transmission.
To further complicate matters, telecoms operators are reluctant to let Nokia offer services directly to their customers, since they want to do the same.Worse, while dealing with these problems, Nokia has seemed to neglect its main business.
But the looming recession eventually may seal the fate of many of these struggling telecom upstarts: No matter how much the Nasdaq lowers the bar, you can't stay listed if you can't stay in business.
The question is whether the French government will make that difficult to do, since it considers Vivendi's media, telecom and utility businesses to be "matters of national interest," thus giving politicos the option to intervene.
Deregulation has improved matters, but costs for telecoms and electricity remain high relative to those in other countries and there is still too little competition.
Sharing what matters Home truths about telecoms Turning surgery inside out The truth about recycling Taking storage to the next dimension Are you talking to me? Bringing free software down to earth ReprintsISPs are particularly worried.
With these companies preparing to beef up the country's telecom infrastructure, it's now only a matter of time before cell phones become as ubiquitous in the country as bicycles once were.
