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Page updated:
26 January 2000
European Telework Online
Table of distances in the Networked Economy
Table of distances in the Networked Economy
- The new geography
- National strategies - UK and USA
- Approaches to Deregulation and Liberalisation
- Implications for Developing Economies
- Basis of comparisons
- Actual costs usually higher
- The table
- More notes on the implications
The new geography
In the Global Networked Economy (or as Europe has it, the Information Society) the geography of trade and economic development is changing. This table shows a new measure of "distance" based on the relative cost of international telephone calls. The lower the cost, the shorter the "new distance". Relative cost (and therefore, "new distance") is shown relative to the cost of consumer calls between UK and USA (currently the most competitive international route), which is one unit of distance.National strategies - UK and USA
National strategies in USA and UK have made the links between these two economies the cheapest in the world. Other distances are shown as a multiple of this. For example Austria is twice as far from the "centre" of the networked economy as USA or UK, Cyprus is five times as far, Bolivia ten times as far, the Seychelles fifteen times.Approaches to Deregulation and Liberalisation
The impact of active and positive deregulation of telecommunications, and the promotion of competition can be clearly seen. In European countries, for example, it costs twice as much to phone from the UK to France (the UK's immediate neighbour) as to phone across the Atlantic. Even Australia, on the other side of the world, is closer than France.Implications for Developing Economies
The implications for developing (third world) economies are also significant. Parts of India have become an attractive places for software development "factories", but a company in India competing for business from (say) the UK faces phone bills that are six times the cost of those from France and four times those from Israel, another country building international software competitiveness.Basis of comparisons
The costs used for comparison are the discounted call costs now available world wide from international vendors. In developing the table we compared these with local rates quoted by discounters in countries with a liberalised telecommunications environment and economy; the table rates are generally the lowest available.Actual costs are usually higher
In general, most consumers pay at higher rates than those suggested here, and the practical distance for countries rated at 2 or more in the table can generally be expected to be much higher than the figure stated. In countries with a more restricted (less liberalised) regime, consumers are generally less aware of the availability of discounted rates; also, the more liberal and competitive the local regime, the lower the prices for ordinary subscriber call costs and the higher - and more visible - the competition among discounters.The new geography
Some notes on the implications of Networked Economy Distances are attached (http://www.eto.org.uk/eustats/netdist-n.htm).The table
| Country | Distance |
| United States | 1.0 |
| United Kingdom | 1.0 |
| Sweden | 1.3 |
| Canada | 1.4 |
| Virgin Islands | 1.5 |
| Australia | 1.6 |
| Netherlands | 1.6 |
| Belgium | 1.8 |
| France | 1.8 |
| Germany | 1.8 |
| Norway | 1.8 |
| Switzerland | 1.8 |
| Denmark | 1.9 |
| Puerto Rico | 1.9 |
| Austria | 2.0 |
| Guam | 2.0 |
| New Zealand | 2.0 |
| Finland | 2.1 |
| Ireland | 2.3 |
| Hong Kong | 2.4 |
| Italy | 2.4 |
| Liechtenstein | 2.4 |
| Luxembourg | 2.5 |
| Mexico | 2.6 |
| Bahamas | 2.9 |
| Israel | 2.9 |
| Monaco | 2.9 |
| Japan | 3.0 |
| Korea - South | 3.0 |
| Mexico | 3.0 |
| Spain | 3.0 |
| Chile | 3.1 |
| Vatican City | 3.3 |
| Slovenia | 3.4 |
| Bermuda | 3.5 |
| Singapore | 3.5 |
| Malaysia | 3.6 |
| Hungary | 3.8 |
| Dominican Republic | 3.9 |
| Taiwan | 3.9 |
| Iceland | 4.1 |
| Malta | 4.1 |
| Portugal | 4.3 |
| Czech Republic | 4.4 |
| Poland | 4.5 |
| Andorra | 4.6 |
| Estonia | 4.8 |
| Greece | 4.8 |
| Guatemala | 4.8 |
| Slovakia | 4.8 |
| Swaziland | 4.9 |
| Cyprus | 5.1 |
| Faeroe Islands | 5.1 |
| Netherlands Antilles | 5.1 |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 5.4 |
| Bulgaria | 5.4 |
| Latvia | 5.4 |
| Albania | 5.5 |
| British Virgin Islands | 5.5 |
| Cayman Islands | 5.5 |
| Croatia | 5.5 |
| Costa Rica | 5.6 |
| Lithuania | 5.6 |
| Ecuador | 5.8 |
| Philippines | 5.8 |
| Brazil | 5.9 |
| Venezuela | 5.9 |
| Antartica | 6.1 |
| Aruba | 6.1 |
| Gibraltar | 6.1 |
| Turkey | 6.1 |
| Ukraine | 6.1 |
| Russia (Moscow) | 6.4 |
| Russia (other) | 6.4 |
| Belarus | 6.5 |
| French Antilles/Martinique | 6.5 |
| Greenland | 6.5 |
| Macedonia | 6.5 |
| Marshall Islands | 6.5 |
| Romania | 6.5 |
| Yugoslavia | 6.5 |
| El Salvador | 6.6 |
| Libya | 6.8 |
| San Marino | 6.8 |
| South Africa | 6.8 |
| Algeria | 6.9 |
| Tunisia | 6.9 |
| Colombia | 7.0 |
| Morocco | 7.0 |
| Papua New Guinea | 7.0 |
| Azerbaijan | 7.1 |
| Argentina | 7.3 |
| French Guiana | 7.4 |
| St. Kitts | 7.4 |
| Thailand | 7.5 |
| Turks & Caicos Islands | 7.5 |
| Zimbabwe | 7.5 |
| Guadeloupe | 7.6 |
| Anguilla | 7.8 |
| Malawi | 7.8 |
| Nevis Island | 7.8 |
| Peru | 7.8 |
| Sudan | 7.8 |
| Tajikistan | 7.8 |
| American Samoa | 7.9 |
| Antigua | 7.9 |
| Botswana | 7.9 |
| Lesotho | 7.9 |
| Honduras | 8.0 |
| Nicaragua | 8.0 |
| Brunei | 8.1 |
| Macao | 8.1 |
| Moldova | 8.1 |
| United Arab Emirates | 8.1 |
| China | 8.3 |
| Dominica | 8.3 |
| St. Lucia | 8.5 |
| Barbados | 8.6 |
| Liberia | 8.6 |
| Namibia | 8.6 |
| Trinidad & Tabago | 8.6 |
| Uganda | 8.6 |
| Angola | 8.8 |
| Mozambique | 8.9 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 9.0 |
| Panama | 9.0 |
| Turkmenistan | 9.0 |
| Ghana | 9.1 |
| Falkland Islands | 9.4 |
| Guinea | 9.4 |
| Reunion Island | 9.4 |
| Uruguay | 9.4 |
| Armenia | 9.5 |
| Grenada - 473 | 9.5 |
| Benin | 9.6 |
| Cape Verde Islands | 9.6 |
| Haiti | 9.6 |
| St. Vincent | 9.8 |
| Gambia | 9.9 |
| Jamaica | 9.9 |
| Tanzania | 9.9 |
| Western Samoa | 9.9 |
| Bolivia | 10.1 |
| Burundi | 10.1 |
| Belize | 10.3 |
| French Polynesia | 10.3 |
| Kazakhstan | 10.3 |
| Saudi Arabia | 10.3 |
| Uzbekistan | 10.3 |
| Egypt | 10.4 |
| Indonesia | 10.5 |
| Mauritania | 10.5 |
| Mayotte Island (Comoros) | 10.5 |
| Paraguay | 10.5 |
| Syria | 10.5 |
| Bahrain | 10.6 |
| Bhutan | 10.6 |
| Georgia | 10.6 |
| Montserrat | 10.6 |
| St. Helena | 10.6 |
| Zaire | 10.6 |
| Guyana | 10.9 |
| Diego Garcia | 11.1 |
| New Caladonia | 11.1 |
| Solomon Islands | 11.1 |
| Cameroon | 11.3 |
| Jordan | 11.3 |
| Lebanon | 11.3 |
| Cuba | 11.4 |
| Burkina Faso | 11.5 |
| Zambia | 11.5 |
| Mauritius | 11.9 |
| Qatar | 11.9 |
| Kenya | 12.1 |
| Gabon Republic | 12.4 |
| India | 12.4 |
| Korea - North | 12.4 |
| Kuwait | 12.4 |
| Maldives | 12.4 |
| Micronesia | 12.4 |
| Yemen Arab Republic | 12.4 |
| Zanzibar | 12.4 |
| Niger | 12.6 |
| Palau | 12.6 |
| Pakistan | 12.8 |
| Laos | 13.1 |
| Nigeria | 13.1 |
| Rwanda | 13.1 |
| Ascension Islands | 13.3 |
| Oman | 13.4 |
| Congo | 13.5 |
| Djibouti | 13.5 |
| Madagascar | 13.5 |
| Mali Republic | 13.5 |
| Sierra Leone | 13.5 |
| Vanuatu | 13.5 |
| Fiji Islands | 13.8 |
| Togo | 13.8 |
| Cambodia | 13.9 |
| Iran | 13.9 |
| Somali Dem. Republic | 14.0 |
| Sri Lanka | 14.0 |
| Nauru | 14.4 |
| Nepal | 14.4 |
| Suriname | 14.5 |
| Tuvalu | 14.6 |
| Seychelles Islands | 15.0 |
| Mongolia | 15.1 |
| Central African Rep. | 15.5 |
| Iraq | 15.6 |
| Tonga | 15.6 |
| Vietnam | 15.6 |
| Bangladesh | 16.1 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 16.1 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 16.1 |
| Afghanistan | 16.4 |
| Ivory Coast | 16.4 |
| Senegal Republic | 16.5 |
| Ethiopia | 16.9 |
| Chad | 18.1 |
| Burma/Myanmar | 18.4 |
| Niue Island | 18.4 |
| Sao Tome | 18.8 |
| Erithea | 18.9 |
| Cook Island | 19.6 |
Supporting notes: The implications of Networked Economy Distances.
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