I would, first of all, like to thank my friend Georges Araman, who has been a loyal presence over the years and has once more accepted to read over my work. I would also like to thank Houlin Zhao, Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union, who gave me his authorization to conduct my research alongside members of ITU, and also Vincent Mangematin, Research Director at Grenoble Ecole de Management, who offered me excellent guidance in the academic world.

Finally, I express my whole gratitude to my wife Elisa and my family, friends, and close relatives who should in the end, start considering my thoughts on electronic mail as friendly spam!