One of the factors determining the use of technologies of communication will be the kinds of investments made in equipment and personnel; who makes them, and what they expect in return. There is no guarantee that the investment will necessarily be in forms of communication that ____________________________________________. Because the ownership of investment funds tends to be in the hands of commercial organisations, the modernisation of communications infrastructure only takes place on the basis of potential profitability. Take, for example, the installation of fibre-optic communications cable across the African continent. A number of African nations are involved in the development but its operational structures will be oriented to those who can pay for access. Many states that might wish to use it for education and information may not only find it too expensive but also simply unavailable to them. There can be no doubt that the development has been led by investment opportunity rather than community demand.
* fibre-optic: 광섬유의