The role of inter-organizational relationships in the development of patents: A knowledge-based approach

This paper examines the role of various inter-organizational relationships in patent development, and how these relationships contribute to patent competitiveness. It takes the perspective of individual inventors and describes how they utilize external knowledge in the development of patents. Based on a case study of a European telecom operator, we found interaction with R&D consortia, suppliers and customers to support inventors in the development of new ideas for patents and in solving related problems. In terms of patent competitiveness, buyer-seller relationships were more valuable for an operator than R&D consortia relationships, as they reduced the market and technology uncertainty related to the patent.     

To talk or not to talk? From Telkom to Hellkom: A critical reflection on the current telecommunication policy in South Africa from a social justice perspective

With the development of new information and communication technologies, the right to communicate assumes new dimensions, since it is almost impossible to fully participate in the globalized world without access to modern information and communication technologies. South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994 and has subsequently returned to the international arena. Its citizens should rightly expect to be able to participate in all that this return offers, not only politically, but also economically and socially. Telecommunications are vital to making such participation possible. In recognition of this fact, the newly elected government developed policies and enacted legislation to ensure that the telecommunications sector, and specifically the sole fixed line service provider Telkom, provides South African citizens affordable access to the telecommunications infrastructure whilst providing acceptable levels of service. However, rather than meeting its obligation to the government and the people of South Africa, Telkom has misused its monopoly. The social injustice that this situation creates is critically examined against the background of the right to communicate based on Rawls' principles of social justice and Sen's capability approach.     

Zero-based budgeting: Does it make sense for universal service reform?

The FCC's proposal for Universal Service Fund (USF) reform proposes to replace current universal service funding programs with the Connect America Fund (CAF), a fund devoted to using government support to make broadband service available in un-served or under-served geographical locations. The goal is to maximize the bang-per-buck from available funds by looking at incremental upgrades to existing infrastructure in under-served areas and incremental infrastructure build-outs in un-served areas. The strategy is to encourage competition between broadband providers whether they are wireless providers or wireline providers.     

The myth of informatization in rural areas: The case of China's Sichuan province

As one of the nation's informatization strategies, the Chinese government has set up an ambitious goal to connect all the villages via broadband by the end of 2020. Lacking an explicit and systematic universal service policy, the Chinese government initially designated the major telecommunications carriers to carry out the task, which is commonly referred as “telephone service in every village project”. So far, the project is going well and all the planned deadlines are met. In addition to connections, government and business entities are developing various information services to bring timely and useful economic, educational and agricultural information to those rural residents.The primary research question of this paper is to look at whether this government-led model is sustainable in the future. The study is conducted in Sichuan, a typical western province where the divide between the urban and rural area is very prominent while, surprisingly, the agricultural informatization service in that region has gained national attention. The study shows that the lack of vision, coherent strategy and a sustainable model are the issues that need to be addressed.     

Regulatory Reform and the Promise of New Telecommunications Infrastructure in New Jersey

The information superhighway is depicted as important to maintaining national competitiveness in a global economy. The concept is particularly evident in the state of New Jersey and its legislatively supported plan, Opportunity New Jersey, to deploy advanced telecommunications technologies to all homes and businesses in just 20 yr. This case study of the decision-making process behind the passage of the New Jersey legislation illustrates how telecommunications companies have worked to couple their desire for less regulation with the desire of state officials for economic development, by promising to upgrade the infrastructure of the public network. With the upgrade promise comes a hoped-for economic development payoff in education, through distance learning, in health care, through telemedicine, and especially in new jobs, by attracting information-intensive businesses, like finance and insurance, to relocate in their service areas. The lack of clear connection between infrastructure investments and economic development means that the twenty-first century will come before strategies such as this are proven.     

国外电信业公私合作的做法及启示

在建设信息化社会的过程中,国外一些国家或地区电信业出现了政府部门重掌其发展规划、投资建议、并与私营部门合作经营的新趋势。本文介绍了荷兰、意大利、澳大利亚和新西兰电信业采用公私合作的做法,总结了国外电信业公私合作的特征,并结合中国电信业的现状,分析了国外电信业公私合作做法对中国电信业的启示,以期对中国的信息化建设提供借鉴。     

Synchronization of coupled heterogeneous complex networks

By only designing the internal coupling, quasi synchronization of heterogeneous complex networks coupled by N nonidentical Duffing-type oscillators without any external controller is investigated in this paper. To achieve quasi synchronization, the average of states of all nodes is designed as the virtual target. Heterogeneous complex networks with two kinds of nonlinear node dynamics are analyzed firstly. Some sufficient conditions on quasi synchronization are obtained without designing any external controller. Quasi synchronization means that the states of all nonidentical nodes will keep a bounded error with the virtual target. Then the heterogeneous complex network with impulsive coupling which means the network only has coupling at some discrete impulsive instants, is further discussed. Some sufficient conditions on heterogeneous complex network with impulsive coupling are derived. Based on these results, heterogeneous complex network can still reach quasi synchronization even if its nodes are only coupled at discrete impulsive instants. Finally, two examples are provided to verify the theoretical results.     

Telecommunications and Transnationalism: The Polarization of Social Space

This article critically assesses the policy orientation, social impacts, and linkages of telecommunications in the United States within a government deregulated policy environment and an increasingly globalized economy. Deregulation has been driven by both ideological and technological demands, stemming from several political and economic transformations in the world economy, the collapse of state socialism in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and greater oligopolistic competition among transnational corporations. An expanded infrastructure of new digital information and communications technology (ICT) is the foundation of a worldwide political economic regime of accumulation. ICT increases command and control capabilities of large corporations, together with the mobility and liquidity of capital, making it essential to the restructuring of the world economy, the new international division of labor, and the creation of global "information city" networks. At the same time, government deregulation and rapid technological change are associated with a number of spatial, economic, and social dualisms.     

浅谈张家口市联通公司增值业务营销策略

该文以张家口市联通公司增值业务发展为例,以4P理论为基础,从产品、价格、渠道、促销四个方面为该公司增值业务的发展提出了营销策略,为推动增值业务发展起到了积极的作用。     

Prospects for Expanded Universal Service in Europe: The Cases of Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway

In Europe, universal service developed within a public-service-oriented institutional framework. The historical conflicts that produced these institutional arrangements are still important for national policymaking. Furthermore, the level of technological development and integration in the European Union forms the context in which decisions concerning universal service are made. Our analysis of telecommunications policies in three small European countries - Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway - shows that business actors are well networked and press for a minimal definition of universal services, whereas those actors promoting an extended definition seem to be less coordinated and therefore less successful. Hence it is unlikely that universal services will be defined more extensively in the future.