DOCSLIB.ORG

Co-Shaping of Governance and Technology in the Development of Mobile Telecommunications

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Co-Shaping of Governance and Technology in the Development of Mobile Telecommunications Co-shaping of governance and technology in the development of mobile telecommunications Master Thesis “Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society” Margarita Georgieva Supervisor: Dr. Barend van der Meulen Second reader: Prof. Stefan Kuhlmann 1 Twente University, Enschede, The Netherlands, 2008 2 Summary How to govern technology so that it brings maximum benefits and minimum harm to society is a question with big scientific and practical importance. The modern way to govern technology is that public authorities (government in general) can set up goals for technological development and the scientific and technical community would achieve these goals and also provide expert advice to policy makers. This hierarchical approach is based on the assumptions that development of technologies can be anticipated and it can be steered in a desired direction by rational decisions made by experts, as long as the main goals and priorities are set by the government. On the other hand, recent science and technology studies (STS) suggest that technological development is a contingent process depending on many (local) factors, in particular negotiations between various social groups and creative use of the technology – i.e. use that the designers of the technology haven’t anticipated. The outcomes of these negotiations and creativity are neither fully predictable nor always rational. So there is a tension between the modern concept of governance of technology and the contingent character of technological development. My goal with this thesis is to analyze this tension in case of a concrete technology, namely mobile communications. During the last 20-25 years mobile communications developed from a technical innovation to an essential infrastructure that penetrates entire society. Governance played essential role in this process, since no infrastructure can be build without organizing different parties, which means governance. So mobile communications are a good case study about how governance of technology happens in practice. My main findings in this paper are the following. When mobile communications emerged as a new technology, various forms of governance of this technology also emerged. The variety was determined by (local) political, economic and cultural factors. Next, the technology and its governance evolved together. Organized through governance, various actor groups were able to inscribe their vision and values into the technology. In this process some forms of governance proved more effective than others, since they “matched” the technology better. Furthermore, forms of governance which were not suited (anymore) for developing mobile communications became obsolete and eventually replaced by other, more suitable forms of governance. This process I call co-shaping of technology and governance. Over time, mobile communications and their governance evolved towards post- modernity. Post-modern technology is distributed technically and organizationally and it promotes post-modern values like pragmatism, combination of multiple social roles, pluralism and individuality. Contemporary mobile communications are certainly a post- modern technology. Post-modern governance includes many actor groups. It is very reflective and it is primarily network-based rather than hierarchical, but it is also pluralistic, so various forms of governance often co-exist. I have shown in my thesis that mobile communications as a post-modern technology can’t exist without governance, 3 but only post-modern governance can be effective for such a technology. Furthermore, because of its inclusiveness, dynamic reflection and ability to co-evolve with the technology, post-modern governance has less tension with the contingency of technological development than modern governance. 4 Table of contents Introduction....................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1 – Problem description and research questions ............................................ 9 1.1 Historical overview of governance of technology.................................................... 9 1.1.1 Modern governance of technology .................................................................... 9 1.1.2 Science and Technology Studies (STS)........................................................... 10 1.1.3 Problem description ......................................................................................... 11 1.1.4 Post-modern governance and CTA.................................................................. 11 1.2 Goals of the thesis................................................................................................... 12 1.2.1 Research questions........................................................................................... 13 1.2.2 Two sides of governance of mobile communications...................................... 13 1.2.3 Structure of the thesis....................................................................................... 14 1.3. Conceptual Analysis .............................................................................................. 14 1.3.1 What is technology .......................................................................................... 14 1.3.2 What is governance?........................................................................................ 16 1.3.3 Types of governance of technology................................................................. 17 Chapter 2. Co-shaping of governance and mobile telecommunications as infrastructure ..................................................................................................................21 2.1 First Generation (1G) Mobile Communications..................................................... 22 2.1.1 Comparative study of five countries................................................................ 22 USA....................................................................................................................... 22 Japan ..................................................................................................................... 23 Germany................................................................................................................ 24 Nordic countries.................................................................................................... 24 UK......................................................................................................................... 25 2.1.2 Analysis of development of 1G infrastructures and their governance............. 26 2.2 Second Generation (2G) Mobile Communications................................................. 28 2.2.1 Europe.............................................................................................................. 28 2.2.2 US .................................................................................................................... 33 2.2.3 Comparison between European and US governance in mobile communications ................................................................................................................................... 37 2.3 Third Generation (3G) Mobile Telecommunications ............................................. 39 2.3.1 Development of 3G infrastructures.................................................................. 39 Ambition of ITU for World-wide 3G Standard .................................................... 39 Early research and development in Europe .......................................................... 41 Development in Japan........................................................................................... 41 Further development in Europe and cooperation with Japan................................ 43 Developments in US ............................................................................................. 45 Battles at ITU and outside..................................................................................... 46 The harmonization of 3G standards...................................................................... 47 2.3.2 Analysis of development of 3G infrastructures and their governance............. 49 2.4 Conclusions and discussion .................................................................................... 51 Chapter 3. Co-shaping of market governance and mobile telecommunications as consumer product ........................................................................................................... 57 3.1 Pioneering mobile telephony – 1980s..................................................................... 59 5 3.1.1 Pricing trends and post-entry regulations ........................................................ 59 3.1.2 Pricing schemes - Calling party pays and receiving party pays....................... 60 3.2 First penetrations into non-business market - early and mid 1990s........................ 62 3.2.1 Pricing trends .................................................................................................. 63 3.2.2 Network coverage ............................................................................................ 65 3.2.3 Lock-in effects ................................................................................................. 65 3.2.4 Interconnection costs and agreements ............................................................. 66 3.2.5 CPP, RPP and growth of the market................................................................ 69 3.2.6 Roaming..........................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Section 10 Flash Technology
    10 FLASH TECHNOLOGY Overview Flash memory technology is a mix of EPROM and EEPROM technologies. The term “flash” was chosen because a large chunk of memory could be erased at one time. The name, therefore, distinguishes flash devices from EEPROMs, where each byte is erased individually. Flash memory technology is today a mature technology. Flash memory is a strong com- petitor to other memories such as EPROMs, EEPROMs, and to some DRAM applications. Figure 10-1 shows the density comparison of a flash versus other memories. 64M 16M 4M DRAM/EPROM 1M SRAM/EEPROM Density 256K Flash 64K 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 Year Source: Intel/ICE, "Memory 1996" 18613A Figure 10-1. Flash Density Versus Other Memory How the Device Works The elementary flash cell consists of one transistor with a floating gate, similar to an EPROM cell. However, technology and geometry differences between flash devices and EPROMs exist. In particular, the gate oxide between the silicon and the floating gate is thinner for flash technology. It is similar to the tunnel oxide of an EEPROM. Source and INTEGRATED CIRCUIT ENGINEERING CORPORATION 10-1 Flash Technology drain diffusions are also different. Figure 10-2 shows a comparison between a flash cell and an EPROM cell with the same technology complexity. Due to thinner gate oxide, the flash device will be more difficult to process. CMOS Flash Cell CMOS EPROM Cell Mag. 10,000x Mag. 10,000x Flash Memory Cell – Larger transistor – Thinner floating gate – Thinner oxide (100-200Å) Photos by ICE 17561A Figure 10-2.
    [Show full text]
  • A Report on Semiconductor Foundry Access by US Academics (Discussion Held at a Meeting Virtually Held at the National Science Foundation on Dec 16, 2020)
    A Report on Semiconductor Foundry Access by US Academics (Discussion held at a meeting virtually held at the National Science Foundation on Dec 16, 2020) Organizers: Sankar Basu1, Erik Brunvand2, Subhasish Mitra3, H.-S. Philip Wong4 Scribes: Sayeef Salahuddin5, Shimeng Yu6 1 NSF, [email protected] 2 NSF, [email protected] 3 Stanford University, [email protected] 4 Stanford University, [email protected] 5 University of California, Berkeley, [email protected] 6 Georgia Institute of Technology, [email protected] 2 Executive Summary Semiconductor technology and microelectronics7 is a foundational technology that without its continued advancement, the promises of artificial intelligence (AI), 5G/6G communication, and quantum computing will never be realized in practice. Our nation’s economic competitiveness, technology leadership, and national security, depend on our staying at the forefront of microelectronics. We must accelerate the pace of innovation and broaden the pool of researchers who possess research capability in circuit design and device technologies, and provide a pathway to translate these innovations to industry. This meeting has brought to the fore the urgent need for access to semiconductor foundry and design ecosystem to achieve these goals. Microelectronics is a field that requires sustained and rapid innovations, especially as the historical rate of progress following a predictable path, is no longer guaranteed as it had been in the past. Yet, there are many plausible paths to move forward, and the potential for further advances is immense. There is a future in system integration of heterogeneous technologies that requires end-to-end co-design and innovation. Isolated push along silos, such as miniaturization of components, will be inadequate.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impacts of Technological Invention on Economic Growth – a Review of the Literature Andrew Reamer1 February 28, 2014
    THE GEORGE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC POLICY The Impacts of Technological Invention on Economic Growth – A Review of the Literature Andrew Reamer1 February 28, 2014 I. Introduction In their recently published book, The Second Machine Age, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee rely on economist Paul Krugman to explain the connection between invention and growth: Paul Krugman speaks for many, if not most, economists when he says, “Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it’s almost everything.” Why? Because, he explains, “A country’s ability to improve its standard of living over time depends almost entirely on its ability to raise its output per worker”—in other words, the number of hours of labor it takes to produce everything, from automobiles to zippers, that we produce. Most countries don’t have extensive mineral wealth or oil reserves, and thus can’t get rich by exporting them. So the only viable way for societies to become wealthier—to improve the standard of living available to its people—is for their companies and workers to keep getting more output from the same number of inputs, in other words more goods and services from the same number of people. Innovation is how this productivity growth happens.2 For decades, economists and economic historians have sought to improve their understanding of the role of technological invention in economic growth. As in many fields of inventive endeavor, their efforts required time to develop and mature. In the last five years, these efforts have reached a point where they are generating robust, substantive, and intellectually interesting findings, to the benefit of those interested in promoting growth-enhancing invention in the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Final Report of the NASA Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) Study Team
    NASA Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) Study Team Final Report of the NASA Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) Study Team March 2016 Authors: HQ Office of the Chief Engineer/Steven Hirshorn and HQ Office of the Chief Technologist/Sharon Jefferies Contributors: ARC/Kenny Vassigh, AFRC/David Voracek, GSFC/Michael Johnson, GSFC/Deborah Amato, JPL/Margaret (Peg) Frerking, JPL/Pat Beauchamp, JSC/Ronnie Clayton, KSC/Doug Willard, LaRC/Jim Dempsey, LaRC/Bill Luck, MSFC/Mike Tinker, SSC/Curtis (Duane) Armstrong NASA Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) Study Team Acknowledgements The authors of this report wish to acknowledge and thank the members of the Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) team for their participation, dedication, effort, hard work and brilliant insights throughout the course of this study. We deeply appreciate their willingness to contribute their knowledge, experience, and time, which was the fundamental attribute leading to the success of this study. You all have been brilliant!! Disclaimer The purpose of this report is to document the observations, findings, and recommendations of the NASA-wide Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) team that conducted its work in 2014. While suggested guidance and recommendations are included, the contents of this report should not be construed as Agency-accepted practice. Establishment of an Agency-accepted practice on TRA may eventually stem from the report’s contents, but at this time the report simply constitutes an outbriefing of the team’s activities. 2 of 63 NASA Technology
    [Show full text]
  • A Study on the Deduction and Diffusion of Promising Artificial
    sustainability Article A Study on the Deduction and Diffusion of Promising Artificial Intelligence Technology for Sustainable Industrial Development Hong Joo Lee * and Hoyeon Oh Department of Industrial and Management, Kyonggi University, Suwon 443760, Gyeonggi, Korea; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 14 May 2020; Accepted: 8 July 2020; Published: 13 July 2020 Abstract: Based on the rapid development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), all industries are preparing for a paradigm shift as a result of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Therefore, it is necessary to study the importance and diffusion of technology and, through this, the development and direction of core technologies. Leading countries such as the United States and China are focusing on artificial intelligence (AI)’s great potential and are working to establish a strategy to preempt the continued superiority of national competitiveness through AI technology. This is because artificial intelligence technology can be applied to all industries, and it is expected to change the industrial structure and create various business models. This study analyzed the leading artificial intelligence technology to strengthen the market’s environment and industry competitiveness. We then analyzed the lifecycle of the technology and evaluated the direction of sustainable development in industry. This study collected and studied patents in the field of artificial intelligence from the US Patent Office, where technology-related patents are concentrated. All patents registered as artificial intelligence technology were analyzed by text mining, using the abstracts of each patent. The topic was extracted through topic modeling and defined as a detailed technique. Promising/mature skills were analyzed through a regression analysis of the extracted topics.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Technology Is the Strategic Issue of Our Time
    Why technology is the strategic issue of our time And what CEOs and their leadership teams should do about it Today’s fastest-growing companies have one thing in common—they harness technology and innovation to their advantage. Cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and faster connectivity fuel business model disruption and industry transformation. Yet for every shining star, we see a struggling one. Newspapers. Travel agencies. Taxis. Film photography. Landline phone service. Cable television. Video rentals. They too invested in technology. What did they miss? Winning in today’s market requires teams to go beyond using technology for the core of their businesses. It requires chief executive officers (CEOs) and their teams to actively and aggressively build new businesses, business models, products, and services using these powerful, rapidly maturing technologies, A broad set of robust and rapidly and it requires breaking through five myths that permeate management thinking in this space. maturing technologies—from cloud to AI to 5G—is rapidly and fundamentally Believing in a single myth impedes an organization’s prospects for growth and breakthrough thinking. Buying into multiple of these changing what is possible for companies myths can erase those opportunities altogether. and how they compete. Five myths that permeate management thinking 1 2 3 4 5 Technology is the Technology is Technology > strategy All tech companies should Newcomers will responsibility of Chief a silver bullet act like Silicon Valley disrupt
    [Show full text]
  • The New Plastics Economy Rethinking the Future of Plastics
    THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY • • • 1 The New Plastics Economy Rethinking the future of plastics THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY RETHINKING THE FUTURE OF PLASTICS 2 • • • THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY • • • 3 CONTENTS Preface 4 Foreword 5 In support of the New Plastics Economy 6 Project MainStream 8 Disclaimer 9 Acknowledgements 10 Global partners of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 14 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 15 PART I SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS 22 1 The case for rethinking plastics, starting with packaging 24 2 The New Plastics Economy: Capturing the opportunity 31 3 The New Plastics Economy demands a new approach 39 PART II CREATING AN EFFECTIVE AFTER-USE PLASTICS ECONOMY 44 4 Recycling: Drastically increasing economics, uptake and quality through compounding and mutually reinforcing actions 46 5 Reuse: Unlocking material savings and beyond 62 6 Compostable packaging: Returning nutrients to the soil for targeted packaging applications 68 PART III DRASTICALLY REDUCING LEAKAGE OF PLASTICS INTO NATURAL SYSTEMS AND MINIMISING OTHER EXTERNALITIES 74 7 Drastically reducing leakage into natural systems and associated negative impacts 76 8 Substances of concern: Capturing value with materials that are safe in all product phases 79 PART IV DECOUPLING PLASTICS FROM FOSSIL FEEDSTOCKS 86 9 Dematerialisation: Doing more with less plastic 88 10 Renewably sourced plastics: Decoupling plastics production from fossil feedstocks 92 Appendix 97 Appendix A. Global material flow analysis: definitions and sources 98 Appendix B. Biodegradation 100 Appendix C. Anaerobic digestion 101 Glossary 102 List of Figures and Boxes 105 Endnotes 106 About the Ellen MacArthur Foundation 117 4 • • • THE NEW PLASTICS ECONOMY PREFACE The circular economy is gaining growing attention as a potential way for our society to increase prosperity, while reducing demands on finite raw materials and minimising negative externalities.
    [Show full text]
  • Life Cycle Concept and Management Practice in Industry
    Life Cycle Concept and Management Practice in Industry E. RAZVIGOROVA and J. ACS: Editors PROCEEDINGS OF THE WORKSHOP HELD IN SOFIA, BULGARIA "Life Cycle Theory and Management Practice" April 27-29,1987 NOT FOR QUOTATIOX WITHOUT PERMISS 10% OF THE ALTHOR LIFE CYCLE CONCEPT AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IN INDUSTRY E. Razvigorova and J. Acs Editors September 1988 WP-88-84 PROCEEDINGS OF THE WORKSHOP HELD IN SOFIA, BULGARIA "Life Cycle Theory and Management Practice" April 27-29, 1987 INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED SYSTEMS ANALYSIS 2361 Laxenburg, Austria FOREWORD The papers included in these proceedings were presented at the workshop, "Life Cycle Theory and Management Practice," held in Sofia, April 27-29, 1987. The objective of this workshop was to discuss the main lines of the life cycle concept and its possible applications in manage- ment. Special emphasis was put on company level. The example of steel industry was used for in-depth discussions, but some con- clusions and illustrations from other industries (more or less related to steel) were also discussed. The continuing need to innovate and develop technologies and products and their diffusion usually necessitates many changes: in market position, both international and domestic; in produc- tivity and capacity utilization; in social impact and expecta- tions. The transition periods between different stages of this development are sometimes painful and difficult. How management succeeds in coping with change and how management itself changes with the dynamics of technology are important research questions. The workshop was designed in three main parts, which struc- ture is reflected in the design of the proceedings.
    [Show full text]
  • Technology Readiness Assessment Guide Best Practices for Evaluating the Readiness of Technology for Use in Acquisition Programs and Projects
    Technology Readiness Assessment Guide Best Practices for Evaluating the Readiness of Technology for Use in Acquisition Programs and Projects GAO-20-48G January 2020 Contents Preface 1 Introduction 4 What is a Technology Readiness Assessment? 9 Why TRAs are Important and Understanding their Features 24 The Characteristics of a High-Quality TRA and a Reliable Process for Conducting Them 32 Step 1 – Prepare the TRA Plan and Select the TRA Team 38 Step 2 – Identify the Critical Technologies 47 Step 3 – Assess the Critical Technologies 63 Step 4 – Prepare the TRA Report 71 Step 5 – Use the TRA Report Findings 80 Technology Maturation Plans 88 TRAs and Software Development 97 Development of System-level Readiness Measures 100 Glossary 103 Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 105 Appendix II Key Questions to Assess How Well Programs Followed the Five Step Process for Conducting a TRA 106 Appendix III Case Study Backgrounds 110 Appendix IV Examples of Various TRL Definitions and Descriptions by Organization 115 Appendix V Other Types of Readiness Levels 122 Appendix VI Agency Websites where TRA Report Examples can be Found 128 Page i GAO-20-48G TRA Guide Appendix VII Experts Who Helped Develop This Guide 129 Appendix VIII Contacts and Acknowledgments 135 References 136 Image Sources 142 Tables Table 1: Cost and Schedule Experiences for Products with Mature and Immature Technologies 27 Table 2: Five Steps for Conducting a Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA) and Associated Best Practices and Characteristics 35 Table 3: Software Implementation
    [Show full text]
  • Innovation Determinants Over Industry Life Cycle
    Innovation Determinants over Industry Life Cycle Sam Tavassoli Department of Industrial Economics Blekinge Institute of Technology (BTH), 37 179 Karlskrona, Sweden Phone: +46 455 385688 E-mail: [email protected] Abstract This paper analyzes how the influence of firm-level innovation determinants varies over the industry life cycle. Two sets of determinants are distinguished: (1) determinants of a firm’s innovation propensity, i.e. the likelihood of being innovative and (2) determinants of its innovation intensity, i.e. innovation sales. By combining the literature emphasizing firms’ internal resources (micro level) with the research strand on the role of the industry context (meso- level), the paper develops hypotheses about the relative importance of firm-level innovation determinants over the industry life cycle. Estimation of a firm-level model of innovation in Sweden, while acknowledging the stage of the life cycle of the industry a firms belongs to, shows that the importance of the determinants of innovation propensity and intensity are not equal over the stages of an industry’s life cycle. Keywords: Determinants of innovation; innovation intensity; innovation propensity; Industry Life Cycle (ILC); Community Innovation Survey (CIS4) 1 1. Introduction Firms’ innovation efforts and outcomes take place in contexts. One of the contexts in which innovation happens is provided by the industry in which firms operate in. A large literature on industry life cycles (ILC) emphasizes that the stage of the life cycle of the industry in which a firm operates provide an important context for innovation [1] [2] [3] [4]1. The stage of the ILC is often claimed to be an important factor influencing the dynamics and behavior of firms, particularly innovative behavior [5].
    [Show full text]
  • Global M&A and the Development of the IC Industry Ecosystem In
    sustainability Article Global M&A and the Development of the IC Industry Ecosystem in China: What Can We Learn from the Case of Tsinghua Unigroup? Yunhao Feng , Jinxi Wu * and Peng He School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; [email protected] (Y.F.); [email protected] (P.H.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +86-010-6279-8443-235 Received: 12 September 2018; Accepted: 20 December 2018; Published: 25 December 2018 Abstract: The integrated circuit (IC) industry is the foundation of the information industry, and its level of development is an important manifestation of the economic and technological strength of a country. At present, the IC industry is primarily monopolised by developed countries. Although China is the world’s largest consumer of semiconductors, it has a disproportionately small international market share of production and a very low domestic chip self-sufficiency rate, lagging far behind Europe, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. The process of promoting the development of China’s IC industry ecosystem is discussed based on a case study of Tsinghua Unigroup and the observation and analysis of its recent international mergers and acquisitions. The resulting conclusions suggest valuable mechanisms that could benefit the technological improvement of late-developing countries and help them close the gap with more developed countries. Relevant theory for the industrial ecosystem is enriched, providing a useful reference for the development of the IC industry in late-developing countries. Keywords: IC industry; innovation ecosystem; catch-up; M&A; Tsinghua Unigroup 1. Introduction The integrated circuit (IC) industry is the foundation of the information industry, and its level of development is an important manifestation of the economic and technological strength of a country.
    [Show full text]
  • GAO-16-410G, Technology Readiness Assessment Guide
    Technology Readiness Assessment Guide Best Practices for Evaluating the Readiness of Technology for Use in Acquisition Programs and Projects From August 11, 2016 to August 10, GAO-16-410G 2017, GAO is seeking input and feedback August 2016 on this Exposure Draft from all interested parties. See page 9 for more information. Preface .................................................................................. 8 Introduction ........................................................................ 11 The Guide’s Case Studies .................................................................... 13 The Guide’s Readers ........................................................................... 13 Acknowledgments ............................................................................... 14 Chapter 1 ............................................................................ 15 What Is a Technology Readiness Assessment (TRA)? ......................... 15 Definitions and Overview .............................................................. 16 TRAs Inform Technology Development and Identify Potential Concerns ....................................................................................... 18 Overview of Technology Development and Its Relationship to Acquisition Programs .................................................................... 18 Technology Development Models ................................................ 23 TRA’s Relationship to Program Management and Oversight ....... 24 Tailoring TRAs for Different Purposes ..........................................
    [Show full text]