Students are expected to attend all classes. The TA will take attendance. Please prepare for each class by completing assigned readings. Your participation is important for the success of questions and answers sessions that occur when we host guest speakers.

Please turn in hard copies of all assignments. Assignments may be turned in to Professor Hausman’s office (E52-271A) or during class, as noted in the syllabus. Assignments should be double spaced with standard 12 point font. MIT Libraries has many research resources such as Forrester Research, Yankee Group, and Investext. Where appropriate, include footnotes and a bibliography.

Using your understanding of course materials and technology, conceptualize an original business opportunity. Create a 5-7 page executive summary describing the opportunity and the competitive landscape of the segment. All papers will be kept confidential. Be creative, yet realistic. Assume your product launch must occur within the next three years.

You may pursue an opportunity in any of the following spaces. If you want to pursue another topic, please advise the TA or Professor for approval.

Warning: DO NOT SELECT A "ME-TOO" COMPANY IN A DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHY. For example, replicating eBay in China is not acceptable. This assignment should focus on emerging technology or emerging opportunities.

Your summary should answer these basic questions at a minimum.

If you want assistance with this assignment, ask the professor or TA during office hours.

Each student should research a recent regulatory decision, and analyze the economic impact of this decision. This paper should be 5-7 pages.

The term paper may be on any topic that relates to the themes of the course. It must be business strategy and economics orientated and not solely focused on a telecommunications technology.  You have two options.

Option 1: A 10-15 page paper double spaced, with a 5-8 slide powerpoint presentation. You must turn in the slides. 

Option 2: Alternatively, you can do a 20-25 page 'academic' paper double spaced. No slides. If you want a definition of 'academic' ask the Professor. 

The best papers take the perspective of one or two companies with contrasting positions, strategies or assets in a specific telecom market and apply economic and business strategy analysis to propose a strategy or approach to the issue(s) you have identified in describing the problem. The strategies should be analyzed within a competitive framework, taking account of relevant regulatory factors.

You can present your findings to the class.  This is optional.  The slide presentation should be a 10-minutes in length and we will have a short Q&A.   The presentation should be at a "high level" meant for the board or top executives, with details contained in the paper and backup material. 

The optional, recommended text for this course is Annabel Dodd’s, The Essential Guide to Telecommunications, 2^nd edition, in paperback. This text is available at the COOP, and can be found on reserve at the Dewey Library. This text introduces technologies relevant to the telecommunications marketplace, and is strongly recommended for students that are new to the industry.

Two other texts will be kept on reserve at Dewey Library. First, Newton’s Telecom Dictionary by Harry Newton and Ray Horak is an industry classic that helps readers understand many technologies and acronymns. Second, Steve Rosenbush from USA Today published Telecom Business Opportunities which contains many interesting anecdotes about firms in their early years.

We intend to arrange dinners with as many speakers as possible, to allow small numbers of students to meet with key leaders in the telecommunications industry in an informal environment on the evening of the lecture. The dinners will take place at Legal Sea Foods, Main Street, Cambridge (5 minutes walk from Sloan) and will be funded by MIT.