Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: With respect to the AT&T Wireless- Cingular merger, the present paper reviewed current market situation, identified the driving forces of the merger, and assessed the merger based on criteria used by both the Horizontal Merger Guidelines and FCC’s case-by-case approach. The HHI, an objective measurement for market concentration, showed that the wireless service market would become highly concentrated nationwide (HHI > 2,100 with 555 points increase) possibly giving market power to the newly combined firm. However, less definite assessment can be made for other criteria, such as the decreasing number of wireless service providers and its greater impact in rural areas. Further investigation is needed for the relationship between the decreasing number of competitors and the presence of meaningful economic competition

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Based on a telephone survey of 986 residents, this paper investigates the uses and gratifications of wireless portable broadband in Korea. Methodology includes exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory analysis, and multiple regression analysis of subsequent theoretical constructs. Results describe 3 key dimensions related to consumer use of wireless broadband, including process, content, and social gratifications as previously found in studies of the Internet, as well as an embedded gratification that is unique to wireless broadband use. All 4 dimensions of gratification are relevant to managing wireless broadband, and measures developed from the gratification profiles identified here can serve as trait-valid scales in future Internet research.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: The intense policy debate over privatization (property rights) versus commons spectrum-governing regimes has profound implications on how wireless communications services will be structured in our society. In this debate, one major parting point between the two sides is whether latest advances in wireless technologies have the power to eradicate spectrum scarcity, which has been the rationale for government regulation over wireless communications since 1927 and is property right proponents’ main argument for implementing spectrum privatization rather than adopting a commons regime.
Commons proponents believe that technology will free us from spectrum scarcity and their arguments are often based on four promising new technologies: mobile ad hoc networking, ultra-wideband, smart antenna, and software radio. This paper examines these technologies’ technical characteristics and limitations, as well as their policy implications. When practical implementation and coordination issues are taken into consideration, these new technologies still carry a lot of uncertainty and there are important tradeoffs to be made such as that between signal reach and interference. These issues are likely to compromise the potential of these new technologies and complicate policy designs for the commons governing-regime.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Wireless mobile telephony can have a dramatic and positive influence on telecom development in poor countries. In Latin America, economic reformers placed high priority on the telecom sector, and telco privatizations, liberalizations, and deregulation. The results of reforms in Mexico have included both dramatic growth in access to wireless telephony and a lingering telecommunications divide. Research suggests that the rapid diffusion of wireless telephony, together with the data services built into second generation cell phones, provide an opportunity for Mexico to promote universal service goals for the Internet using the Wireless Web. High pricing and a lack of competition in the wireless telephony market, together with the universal service commitments of the eMexico initiative, justify a subsidy to provide cell phone users with free or inexpensive access to the wireless Web and a wireless eMexico portal.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: Despite the huge interest and attention drawn to the question of values in mobile commerce, controversies still exist over the way in which they are defined and classified. We divide wireless Internet values in a twofold manner: device-specific and application-specific. While the literature states that there are three principal values of mobile devices, which are anytime, anyplace and personal values, we argue that applications of m-commerce serve two fundamental purposes: function and entertainment. As these applications are becoming more diverse and capable, one of the issues worth examining is identifying the users’ purposes for using them, and assessing how their use tendencies influence satisfaction and use amount.
Since little is known about the users of wireless Internet, We start by examining the demographic data of its users. Then, based on a scale measuring users’ tendency toward functional and entertainment utilization, we build a model that explains its effects on satisfaction and use amount. Data was collected from surveys of wireless Internet users in Korea, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to formulate and test a causal model.
Results shows that users of lower maturity level are more likely to be entertainment-oriented than those of higher maturity level, who in contrast exhibit more function-oriented use of wireless Internet. Also, the model supports the hypothesized positive effect of the users’ tendencies toward entertainment use to their satisfaction. On the other hand, users with higher tendencies toward functional use were more likely to connect to wireless Internet more frequently and longer in time. This paper contributes to the literature of m-commerce values and consumer satisfaction by giving a new twist on values laid out in terms of purpose and by applying them to predict satisfaction and usage. We conclude by discussing the implication of the results for wireless Internet service providers and presenting directions for future m-commerce studies.