Industry Analysis Case Study

Mobile Telecoms: The Lessons of 3G

OR

Abstract:
Even 30 years after the first Mobile Phone was demonstrated by Marty Cooper in Manhattan, the Mobile phone industry is still in its evolutionary process. Almost every decade a cutting edge technology, promising much better services, hits the deck and cannibalises the investment that has gone into its predecessor. The latest buzzword 3G – representing third generation telecommunications – offers a plethora of services on a mobile phone, and is expected to make the mobile phone as common a commodity as a wallet or purse, making wired telephony a thing of the past. In a hurry to grab the commercial advantage the operators worldwide have invested hundreds of millions of dollars, while the academic grey heads are sceptical about the economic viability of the new technology.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss the rationale behind the huge investments in 3G and the future of the telecommunications industry.

Keywords : Mobile telecommunications, Third generation, 3G, Spectrum licensing, Information technology, Time division multiple access (TDMA), Technology Management Case Study, Code division multiple access (CDMA), Global system for mobile communications (GSM), General packet radio service (GPRS), Enhanced data rate for GSM evolution (EDGE), Wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), Universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), Radio frequency distribution, Technology life cycle