An analytic model for the prospective exploration of emerging infrastructures

Abstract

Development ofinformation and communication technologies (ICT), or more specifically information infrastructures (11s) for offering services such as, for example, wireless broadband or digital music downloading, present a complex phenomenonfor technology and policy scholars as well as practitioners. The inherent complexity involved in the infrastructural development process including the important role of standards in these structures necessitates analytical tools which can aid in understanding and exploring the infrastructures' systems and services. Traditionally, analysis of the success orfailure of II development has been done retrospectively. In this paper we propose a conceptual analytic model for the prospective exploration of IIs. Through application of the proposedframework to the analysis of two case studies, we demonstrate the usefulness and applicability of the model for the analysis of emerging Information Infrastructures. This is done by analyzing the degree of resistance of the integration of needed components within these IIs.