This document discusses the impact of privatization on telecommunications sectors globally since the 1980s. It notes that privatization generally involves opening telecom sectors to competition and privatizing state-owned incumbent operators. The success of privatization depends on private investors' perceptions of local conditions. Factors like wealth, population distribution, geography, politics, and existing telecom infrastructure influence investors' priorities between regions. The analysis finds that privatization has varying effects on network growth, tariffs, and efficiency depending on whether a country is an OECD, Latin American, African resource-rich coastal, African resource-rich landlocked, or African resource-scarce country.