Public technology procurement in the Finnish telecommunications industry

This paper discusses public technology procurement from the perspective of the PTT's procurement of the DX 200 digital switching system, equipment for the NMT and KAUHA paging network in the Finnish telecommunications industry. The theoretical and conceptual framework draws on a systems of innovation approach using development bloc and technological systems theory, as well as previous research on technology procurement. It is suggested that public technology procurement has generated a set of structural tensions as the main driving force for the evolution of the industry, and Nokia, up until the mid 1980s. These characteristics of the PTT's procurement activities stem from an entrepreneurial mind-set, a decentralised system of operators and the presence of foreign competition on the market, rather than a policy making process. Policy implications thus relate to the role of contextual factors, complementary policies as well as standards during procurement processes.