Telecommunications in Transition

In this article, we seek to provide a deep insight into telecommunications reform strategies by studying the Chinese experience in the international context. We argue that, while the telecommunications sector generally has been moving towards full liberalization and deregulation on the global scale, there is great variation in how this has been achieved in individual countries. Countries have adopted a variety of transitional mechanisms in their telecommunications reform process. We suggest that an efficient reform program should be formulated by correctly analyzing the context, including the development stage of the telecommunications sector, and the economic and political environment. China presents one such experience.

Global Competition and Cooperation in Standardization of Wireless Communications

One of the challenges as well as opportunities for the success of wireless communication in the 21st century is the standardization that, in a simplified term, defines how specific technologies are used in a particular wireless communication system. Standardization goes beyond a technical decision made by engineers. This chapter first examines the history and the status of standardization in wireless communications in the world. Global cooperation and competition among different standards are then examined. Finally, the chapter analyzes ITU’s efforts on the 3G standardization that aim to bring harmony among the world’s wireless communication developers and providers.

A New Business Dimension

Space division multiple access (SDMA) is a promising technique useful for increasing capacity, reducing interference and improving overall wireless communication link quality. With a large-scale penetration expected for wireless Internet, the radio link will require significant reduction in cost and increase in capacity, benefits that the proper exploitation of the spatial dimension can offer. Market opportunities with SDMA are significant, as a number of companies have been recently formed to bring products based on this new concept to the wireless marketplace. The approach to SDMA is broad, ranging from "switched-beam techniques" to "adaptive antennas." Basically the technique employs antenna arrays and digital signal processing to achieve the necessary increases incapacity and quality needed in the wireless world.

Organizational Impacts of New Communication Technology

This study tests the multicultural applicability of Huber’s technological imperative framework by comparing the effects of the adoption of a new telecommunication technology, cellular phones, on the behavior of the sales force in several industry sectors in France and the U.S. The study investigates three areas of interest. First, the study finds that, though the sales strategies are the same in both countries, the actual behavior of the sales force to attain these strategic goals differs. Second, a comparison of these differences with the variables in Huber’s theory shows that the differences in the variables are consistent with the sales representative behavior in the two countries. Third, the study asks what effect the use of cell phones has had on sales force behavior. Analysis on all the data combined shows the predicted results of new technology adoption—a shortening of decision-making time occurs in both countries. When the data is stratified by country, however, changes in variables in the U.S. support Huber’s theory, those from France do not. These results indicate a cultural bias in the generation of theory that has important implications for cross-cultural research.

Virtual Private Networks

VPN development has been driven by the rapid growth of Internet access, the critical mass of companies with a Web presence or conducting some form of e-commerce over the Internet, and the great concern for saving money. The objectives of this chapter are to provide a brief background on the development and technology of VPNs, describe several current VPN implementations and their impacts, and discuss key management issues surrounding the adoption and implementation of VPNs.

Management Challenges in Broadbend Networking

This paper examines the implications of technological discontinuity for organizations in six communities in New York State. From the network manager’s perspective, two broad sets of challenges are presented: technological – including specific issues such as bandwidth management and access and backbone issues, and applications–and those related to acquisition of technical support services. Applications prototyping is presented as a response to the technological challenges. The action research project (and the broader research program of which it is a part) underlying this chapter is focused on the public, nonprofit—including government and healthcare institutions, so-called social sector nonprofits, K-12 and higher education—and small business sectors, but lessons learned are broadly applicable.

The Role of New Connectivity Options in Information Infrastructure Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

This chapter examines innovative telecommunications connectivity options, in particular fiber optic submarine cable and satellite systems, emerging on the African continent and asks how they can contribute not only to improved telecommunications, but also to the broader development of information infrastructure within the region. It is argued that if less developed countries and regions are to implement telecommunication networks and information services that will serve their interests, they must prioritize development objectives that rest firmly in their particular economic, political, cultural and social context.

Gigabit Internet to Every Home and School

One of last great impediments to wide-scale and rapid deployment of the information society is the "last mile" issue. This chapter outlines some of the issues and history of the last mile problem and proposes a research and development program leading to early deployment of extreme high speed Internet access to schools and libraries (GITS), which will then underpin an architectural framework for high speed Internet access to the home-Gigabit Internet to the Home (GITH). The proposed strategy calls for the deployment of a third residential network service operating in parallel with existing telephone and cable delivery mechanisms and thereby avoiding the regulatory and technical hurdles of integrating traditional telephone and cable services into one common delivery mechanism.

Intelligent Networks

Many see the Intelligent Network (IN), which is today the prevalent means of providing services based on manipulation of voice call setup, as a starting point for the service delivery platform of the future. In this chapter we outline the basic elements of the IN as it exists today. We then discuss some of the technical and commercial limitations that are currently driving the development of IN. The following three sections summarize Internet/information technology and PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) integration standardization work carried out by the IETF (PINT/SPIRITS), the Parlay consortium (Parlay) and the OMG (IN/CORBA Interworking) respectively. The final two sections identify important common trends in the development of IN and some issues for which immediate solutions are not apparent.

The Internet, the State Library, and the Implementation of Statewide Information Policy

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used by government, researchers and businesses in a wide range of domains including economic development, environmental management, education, health, human services, infrastructure management, and disaster response. Most experts agree that the most expensive part of a GIS program is the creation of spatial data. Some estimate that as much as 80% of the cost of any application is attributable to the expenses of acquiring and geocoding information (Thapa & Bosler, 1992). Often the information needs of different GIS applications overlap and data created by one organization can be used by others. Data sharing can therefore help reduce costs of GIS application development and yield considerable benefits and efficiencies. To achieve this purpose, the State of New York has implemented a GIS Coordination Program which features an Internet-based GIS Clearinghouse operated by the New York State Library (Dawes & Eglene, 1998). In this program, the Library acts as a critical implementer and value-added facilitator of an important new state information policy that has influence over spatial data development, exchange, and use at all levels of government and in the private and not-for-profit sectors. The Clearinghouse provides the conceptual framework and operational platform for a fully functioning data cooperative which is the heart of the New York State GIS Data Sharing Policy. The library-based clearinghouse has become the essential portal to many newly identified information resources. It organizes the data descriptions, provides a publicly available and easy-to-use means of access, promotes sharing, points the way to education and other services, and generally makes possible the vision of a living data resource.