All forms of network equipment subject to mix and match. Optimize network and application jointly to get economies of scale and interconnections. Network architecture of the network of the future planned through the standards process, but a clash between computing and communications companies over which plan and technical standards to follow. Many closed proprietary standards clash with standards set by governmental committees. Difficult to plan such a network.
Emphasis is on experimentation and dissemination of best practices.
Proprietary standards are licensed on attractive terms, but demonstration is key. Users often design own networks while suppliers act as subcontractors. Information captured in inflexible media. Computer and telecommunications liberalization progressed fastest in the U.S. due to its flexibility towards industrial reorganization. In Japan information and communication service competition were allowed in 1984 but on a modest scale.