A Study on the Strategy and Intellectual Property of 3G Mobile Communication in Taiwan
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Ho, Chia-Yi
Abstract
Since global telecommunication is liberalized, mobile communication has been transferred from 1G (analog voice transfer via circuit-switch), 2G (digital voice transfer via circuit-switch), 2.5G (plus with data transfer via packet-switch), to nowadays 3G (which emphasizes voice and data communication; voice is transferred by circuit-switch and high-speed data is transferred in broadband by packet-switch). The development of 3G is slowly and the cost is expensive, so the market expands unsmoothly. To improve the transfer rate and cost, the B3G technology has begun developing and being studied worldwide toward a combination of voice and data transfer via pure packet-switch. Development of mobile communication industry started late in Taiwan. Owing to not attending the process of related international standard definition, which results in lack of essential IPs or critical techniques for local companies, most of Taiwan’s manufacturers can only do as ODM/OEM mainly. Through understanding the current situation and trend of international mobile communication market, the B3G’s technology, and the latest status of mobile communication industry development in Taiwan., the purpose of this study is to help, when B3G comes, Taiwan’s mobile communication operators and manufactures on how to face the situation and to develop the industry accordingly, by analyzing the industry chain and national competitive advantages and disadvantages. The results of this study briefly indicates that, in the age of B3G, Taiwan’s mobile communication operators will face the situation that voice fares will drop continuously, a flat fee charging system will be applied for all packet switch services, and voice income will be no longer the main profit source. Although any possible value-added service continues to be developed and enhanced by current operators, the B3G’s characteristic: broadband and higher transferring rate, will lead all internet operators into this competitive market. As voice income falls, it is estimated some operators without enough innovation talents may be forced to reduce the staff, be merged, or even be terminated, while some others survived may diversify into other potential market by using its own customer resources. Except following by traditional low-end or middle-end cell phones OEM/ODM in the past, Taiwan’s mobile communication manufactures have developed many competitive advantages, and established the industry chain on WiMAX technology, stepping toward B3G, by the government’s assistance in recent years. Since B3G is purely founded on IP-based core network, the study concludes some suggestions for Taiwan’s manufacturers as follows: (1) except keeping on handset IC development, to endeavor researching and developing the related techniques about base station and system equipment in order to step toward a whole-system output by using our current advantages of fully parallel labor-divided semiconductor-outsourcing industry and IC design knowledge of mobile handsets; (2) to improve Smartphone market share and to expand international market based on our competitive advantages of Windows Mobile technology; (3) as ODM/OEM, to expand export market and to explore new customers; (4) to enhance brand extension for profit increase; (5) by using our comparative competitive advantages of Internet industry, to develop techniques of B3G, which is based on pure-IP. Because European, American and Japanese firms own most proprietaries of the essential IPs about mobile communication, our manufactures are inevitably charged for expensive royalties. As for the government, since no innovative technology for B3G has appeared, Taiwan’s government should take the patent problem seriously, and cooperate with the manufacturers and academia to actively attend the conference of related international standards definition, analyze the patent ownership situation, and seek for new opportunities to develop our own innovative intellectual properties so as to improve our competitive advantages in the international market.
Subjects
Mobile communication
Industry chain
Cell phone
Intellectual property
Type
thesis
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