Direct impacts
These are shown in the following geographical breakdown of BT’s markets during the year 2003.
Customer turnover distributed as follows:
Expenditure on employees:
Geographical turnover
Indirect impacts
These can be catigorised under 4 main headings;
Income and employment
Productivity
Globalisation
Knowledge economy
Income and employment
This is created in business that supply goods and services to BT. But we must note that there are businesses that supply the supplier of BT and not directly. Taking this
into account it is not surprising that the expenditure of BT in Great Britain creates over £2 Billion of income to the British economy which in turn supports the employment of over 100,000 people.
Productivity
Being such a large business BT has a serious impact on the productivity of individual enterprises, industrial sectors and technology. ICT (information and communications technology) in the industrialised world is a major force in the economy.
ICT has increased band width and reduced costs of communications which helps businesses and organisations become more efficient and productive.
Globalisation
Quote
“This has brought enormous benefits and has the potential to deliver more”
This is because communications has enabled previously unheard of connections, cultural and personal, between billions of people. This helps to foster advances in health and education, also small businesses and organisations in remote poorer countries have easy and cheap access to information.
Knowledge economy
This is not only the future but the present, using technology to create a function of ideas and imagination rather than traditional capital investment.
This is why BT have placed considerable emphasis on research and development and knowledge management. BT have the technology to teach others about the future, this can only strengthen the effects of their business on future economies both globally and nationally.
Summary
We take for granted the technology that is available to us now and in the future, not realising the true effects it has on us and the world around us. Telecommunications brings us knowledge, health, wealth and all the emotions that affect our every day lives.
