Telecommunications Research From

Alternative Perspectives

Prof. Dr. Hoon Paik

Department of International Relations

ChungAng University, Korea

hoon@cau.ac.kr

27. 08. 03Hotel Marriot, Pusan

I. ‘Creative Destruction’ by Networks

II. Digital Market Restucturing

III. Changes in Social Structure

IV. Others

Contents

- Joseph Schumpeter

. “Innovation would destroy existing technologies and methods of production by newer and more efficient products.”

- Digital economy’s discontinuity, uncertainty

. ex: optical networks -> wireless -> the Internet protocol platforms.

. mergers, acquisitions, investment and disinvestment in the worldwide markets

- Social and political restructuring

Creative Destruction by Networks

- Industrial restructuring

. disappearing industry boundaries, entry barriers, market positions

-> interfirm alliances, cost-reducing innovations

- Deregulation

. collapse of natural monopoly

. competitive entry and repricing

. privatization, M&A, strategic alliances

Digital Market Restructuring

- Newly competitive positioning

. ‘hypercompetitive’ strategy

-> substituting for protected market position

- technological assumption shift

. Digital, wide-bandwidth, wireless, IP-based platforms

- “business ecosystems” = cooperative business models (cooperation not confrontation) (James F. Moore, 1997)

- act in unison and share core capabilites

- AT&T’s new strategy

. Efforts for Market dominance

-> investment in McCaw Cellular, Media One, TCI

- Privatization of France Telecom, Telstra(Australia), Telecome Argentina

(corporatizing process: government department -> state-owned -> public-private joint-ventures -> privatization)

Creative destruction of social structure- Murakami Ryu Exodus for Land of Hope (19

98): Young generations’ rebel hoping for a New Digital World -> restructuring of Japanese Society not suitable in Digital Age

- Japan’s traditional value system . Emphasis on continuity -> suitable for slow and predictable technol

ogical change (ex: incremental innovations) -> not suitable for discontinuity in digital e

nvironment

- Japan’s policy changes . 1973: ‘Information Society Initiative(Fujitsu,

NEC)’ . 1970’s: Failure of Japan’s internet . 1984: JUNET(e-mail service) in fear of “Pax D

igital Americana” . In line with America’s NII, NTT(Nippon Telegr

aph and Telephone) and MITI(Ministry of Industry and Trade) starts Information Highway

-> Low user volume due to high user cost(discount only after 23hr)

. 1998: MITI’s ‘Real-Internet Consortium (RIC) – Terabit Router starts

. 2000: MITI’s “Forum for Agreeable Living with Intelligence” project starts

-> Digital restructuring of Japanese society

- Employment structure change

. ‘informational labour’ cf. ‘generic labour’

-> highly educated, capable of self-programming

-> maximum flexibility

- political changes

. From ‘class based politics, nationally based

- politics’ to ‘identity politics’

- identity politics: expressing cultural shifts in sensibility

- new social movements offering colletive identities

-> political agitation

Political Perspective