Growth in adversity: non-economic factors in telecommunications development in China

It is generally conceived that economic growth contributes to telecommunications development. This study examines the role of the state and its military strategic considerations in the presumed link of economic growth and telecommunications development. A study on an interior Chinese province, namely, Shaanxi, shows that telecommunications development in China depends not merely on economic factors, but also on non-economic factors such as political, historical and national security considerations. The interplay of the state and economic growth determines whether a particular region is having maximum, medium or minimum growth in the telecommunications sector. Based on the interplay of the state factor and economic growth, a model for telecommunications planning in developing countries is proposed.