ABSTRACT
This book is a study of changes taking place in two key advancedtechnology industries: computing and communications (C&C). The study is broadened by its focus on the transformation of the industries in two major European economies: Britain and France. It could be said that the two master technologies of C&C have been tending to converge in the past decade, but the policy environments of Britain and France have diverged radically during the same period. In France there has been a continuation of dirigisme in the fields reported here, industrially and territorially. In Britain, the 1980s saw a radical experiment in withdrawal or diminution of government support for both industries (but particularly - through privatization - of the telecommunications sector) and regions.
