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Telecommunications Act of 1996 Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Telecommunications Act of 1996 case study


At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Telecommunications Act of 1996 case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Thomas R. Eisenmann, Dan J. Green. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 (referred as “Act Telecommunications” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Global Business. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Internet, IT, Policy, Regulation.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment






Case Description of Telecommunications Act of 1996 Case Study


Reed Hundt, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, reflects on the passage and implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The act was intended to stimulate competition and innovation in the telecommunications sector. Its provisions were of great importance to industry participants and to society at large, which led to vigorous lobbying. This note provides background on the historic conflict between monopoly local phone companies and long-distance carriers, a description of the inner workings of the FCC and the political pressures confronting the commission, a description of key provisions of the act, an assessment of how well the act has met its objectives, and Hundt's reflections on the challenges that a regulator faces in seeking a balance between private interests and public responsibility.


Case Authors : Thomas R. Eisenmann, Dan J. Green

Topic : Global Business

Related Areas : Internet, IT, Policy, Regulation




Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Telecommunications Act of 1996 Case Study


Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 6 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10023555) -10023555 - -
Year 1 3461758 -6561797 3461758 0.9434 3265809
Year 2 3969124 -2592673 7430882 0.89 3532506
Year 3 3955394 1362721 11386276 0.8396 3321025
Year 4 3235499 4598220 14621775 0.7921 2562818
TOTAL 14621775 12682159




The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2658604

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting


What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.




Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting


There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Profitability Index
2. Payback Period
3. Net Present Value
4. Internal Rate of Return

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Act Telecommunications shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Act Telecommunications have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.






Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Telecommunications Act of 1996

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Global Business Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Act Telecommunications often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Act Telecommunications needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.



Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 15 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10023555) -10023555 - -
Year 1 3461758 -6561797 3461758 0.8696 3010224
Year 2 3969124 -2592673 7430882 0.7561 3001228
Year 3 3955394 1362721 11386276 0.6575 2600736
Year 4 3235499 4598220 14621775 0.5718 1849907
TOTAL 10462095


The Net NPV after 4 years is 438540

(10462095 - 10023555 )








Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%


If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years              Cash Flow     Net Cash Flow     Cumulative    
Cash Flow
Discount Rate
@ 20 %
Discounted
Cash Flows
Year 0 (10023555) -10023555 - -
Year 1 3461758 -6561797 3461758 0.8333 2884798
Year 2 3969124 -2592673 7430882 0.6944 2756336
Year 3 3955394 1362721 11386276 0.5787 2289001
Year 4 3235499 4598220 14621775 0.4823 1560329
TOTAL 9490465


The Net NPV after 4 years is -533090

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9490465 - 10023555 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Act Telecommunications to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.





Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Act Telecommunications has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Act Telecommunications can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Act Telecommunications, then the stock price of the Act Telecommunications should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Act Telecommunications should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.






Negotiation Strategy of Telecommunications Act of 1996

References & Further Readings

Thomas R. Eisenmann, Dan J. Green (2018), "Telecommunications Act of 1996 Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.


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