Dan Saugstrup

Mobile communications: Europe, Japan and South Korea in a comparative perspective

This paper has two interrelated purposes. One is to provide an empirical overview of the developments of new mobile systems and services in Europe, Japan, and South Korea. The other is to examine the discussions regarding the possible explanations for the present lead that East Asia has in new mobile developments. The motivation for making a comparative analysis of mobile developments in Europe, Japan and South Korea is the fact that Japan and South Korea have taken the lead within mobile communications during the last few years, whereas Europe, and in particular the Nordic countries, was leading the way with GSM.

3G Standards: the battle between WCDMA and CDMA2000

Purpose – The main purpose of this paper is to analyze which standard/technology will win the 3G mobile markets. In addition, two sub topics are examined. First, which kind of victory will it be – will one technological solution be all‐dominating or is co‐existence more likely? Second, which are the most decisive factors in the battle between the different standards – which roles do respectively technology path‐dependence, network effects and strategic concerns play?Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken in the paper is to examine the different kinds of stakeholders – in this field, first and foremost, equipment manufacturers, network operators, policy makers/administrators and end users; to analyze how such stakeholders are intervening in the different relevant steps – technology development, technology deployment and technology take‐up – and to analyze these issues from different angles – technology, markets and economy, policy and regulation, and other social aspects.Findings – The paper conc...

How to Achieve the Goal of Broadband for All

The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the paper aims to explain national experiences in penetration of broadband, through an analysis of drivers and barriers. Second, the paper will on this background assess the role of government intervention in order to achieve universal access to broadband services. The paper focuses on identification and analysis of drivers and barriers towards the development of broadband for all. The purpose is to provide input for an assessment of various policy measures aiming at stimulation of the growth in penetration of broadband services. The analysis builds on experiences with broadband development in four countries, which varies from market leaders (Canada, Denmark and South Korea) to average penetration regarding broadband services (Germany). The paper is based on ongoing work in WP3 of the BREAD project (Broadband in Europe for all: a multi disciplinary approach), which collects information on ongoing regional and national initiatives in Europe and around the world.

3G: Standardisation in a Techno-Economic Perspective

The main question in this paper is: Which standard/technology will win the 3G mobile market? The most prominent contenders are WCDMA (also known as UMTS) and cdma2000. In addition, EDGE will also play a role as will (presumably) the Chinese TD-SCDMA standard3. Furthermore, other kinds of wireless solutions such as WLAN (WiFi and WiMAX) are spreading fast and may pose a threat to (or complement) the cellular mobile technologies. Such phenomena should not be overlooked. However, in this paper we will concentrate on 3G technologies and specifically on the two main contenders, WCDMA and cdma2000.