The impact of government regulatory behavior on the transition to 3G mobile technology -- A cross-country study.

摘要

The transition to 3G mobile technology varies across countries with respect to the timing of 3G's initial entry to a county and the diffusion of 3G technology enabled services. Past studies have demonstrated demographic factors significantly contribute to the disparities between countries regarding the transition to a next generation mobile technology. In addition, government regulatory behavior plays an influential role when a country's mobile telecommunication market goes through technology innovation. From multiple data sources I compile two cross-country datasets, a cross-section dataset of Year 2005 and a panel dataset of the years 2009 to 2012, to study the government's role in the two aspects of the 3G transition. Through quantitative analysis of the datasets, I find that competition in the mobile telecommunication market accelerates the deployment and the diffusion of 3G mobile technology. High levels of government interference and low levels of government effectiveness are found to delay the initial entry of 3G technology to a country. Also the estimations indicate auction as a licensing process plays a positive role in the penetration of 3G technology among potential users. However, the analysis does not find a significant effect of technology standard mandate on the transition to 3G technology. My findings suggest the government's capability in public management and choice of regulatory policies can substantially impact the outcome of the transition to 3G technology.