Jim, you'll note that the point I was making about the terms bottom-up and top-down was that they do not retain their meanings across areas of usage. They're entirely context dependent. The examples you cite support that contention. Also, improved communications certainly improve the economic viability of an area served by it. Perhaps in some areas it means only holding their own, but without it they would only wind up losing ground.
Both you and John referred to the profitability of the service provider, if I'm not mistaken, instead of the contribution of improved ICT to the commonweal. That is, until you clarified the matter in your last post, which is what I had been anticipating.
Now, I'm not suggesting that anyone is at fault here, since a discussion based on the economic criteria affecting service providers is a perfectly legitimate one to have. Only, an analysis of service provider-centric issues must be distinguished from the impact on, and by, externalities, as well, in order to provide a more complete picture, IMO. |
